Laser welding an alternative to sutures

A study published in the September issue of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery suggests that a laser welding technique could offer a good alternative to suturing for closing corneal wounds following phaco or extracapsular cataract extraction.

Luca Menabuoni and co-workers from the Hospital of Misericordia e Dolce, Prato, Italy used a diode laser to weld the stroma after cataract surgery in 20 eyes of 20 patients. All eyes had a preoperative visual acuity (VA) of 20/200 or worse.

No wound leakage was noted in any of the eyes during follow-up and endothelial cell loss rates were similar to those you would expect following standard cataract surgical procedures. No collateral effects or postoperative inflammation was detected in any of the eyes. However, nine of the ten eyes that underwent extracapsular cataract extraction demonstrated slight differences between pre- and postoperative levels of astigmatism.

It was concluded that the laser-assisted procedure has potential as a method for closing longer incisions.