Femtosecond laser is a surgical tool designed to incise the cornea (flap, tunnel, etc.).
Dr Assaf uses the femtosecond LDV Z6 from Ziemer.www.ziemergroup.com).
FEMTOSECOND LASER is a technology approved by the FDA in the USA where clinical studies began in the 80s and commercialisation in the 90s.
Its applications are :
- Refractive: lasik surgery for myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia (corneal tunnel for inlays).
- Therapeutical: lamellar corneal graft, corneal tunnels for intracorneal rings for the treatment of keratoconus.
Other clinical indications are currently being developed.
It is particularly efficient even in cases where the cornea is too curved or too flat.
Femtosecond Laser works with extremely short pulses, of the order of a Femto second, or 10-15 seconds. This short pulse duration avoids thermal effects. Thanks to an effect on the electrons in the atoms, it creates several thousand small gas bubbles. Femtosecond Laser incisions enable the surgeon to determine in advance the diameter and thickness of the flap as well as the the length of the hinge. As with the microkeratome, it requires the use of a suction ring during incision. The surgeon can then lift the flap using a tweezer that crosses the plane of the laser action at the level of the micro-bubbles.
Le Laser Excimer is used in various refractive surgery techniques:
- PRK
- TRANS PRK
- LASIK
- FEMTOLASIK
- Aberrometry and wave front customized visual correction
- ULTRA-THIN LASIK and Sub-bowman Keratomileusis (SBKM)
Technology used by Dr Assaf for refractive surgery: