All laser cataract surgery compared to femtosecond laser phacoemulsification surgery: corneal trauma

The aim of this study was to evaluate corneal tissue trauma after femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and phacoemulsification (femtophaco surgery) compared to FLACS and nanolaser emulsification (all laser surgery). This is a prospective nonrandomized clinical study conducted at the Ophthalmology Clinic, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Italy, involving forty-two eyes of 42 patients candidates to cataract surgery. Patients were enrolled in two groups: femtophaco surgery (group 1 with 21 eyes) and all laser surgery (group 2 with 21 eyes). Main outcome measures included uncorrected visual acuity and distance corrected visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell count, and corneal thickness at the tunnel site and at the center of the cornea. Best correct visual acuity was not significantly different between the two groups. Postoperatively, a significant decrement of endothelial cell count at the center of the cornea was observed in group 1 compared with preoperative values at 90 days ( p < 0.001) while t remained stable in group 2. The central corneal thickness showed a statistically significant increase for both groups that reached a maximum thickness at 7 days and then returned to presurgery levels after 90 days for group 1 and after 60 days for group 2. The tunnel corneal thickness showed a statistically significant increase for both groups that reached a maximum thickness at 7 days, which did not return to presurgery level for group 1 but did return to presurgery levels after 60 days for group 2. All laser surgery induced lower central endothelial cell loss and lower increase of corneal thickness compared to femtophaco surgery.