The femtosecond laser, as a new technological tool, has been utilized in the creation of corneal flaps for excimer laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), replacing to a certain extent the traditional automated corneal laminar knife, and to a certain extent improving the safety of this procedure. Currently, as a new technology or device entering the medical market, advertisements are all over the place. Some hospitals and manufacturers deliberately exaggerate the femtosecond laser and downplay traditional surgical methods when advertising this technology, which is extremely misleading to patients when choosing a surgical method, and it is necessary for patients to correctly recognize these advertisements and propaganda that may have a negative impact. It is also necessary for knowledgeable professionals, especially relevant hospitals and manufacturers, to conduct marketing and publicity in a scientific and standardized manner for the sake of the orderly development of this market, and for the sake of the health and interests of patients. Misleading one: femtosecond laser surgery has no contraindications Advertisement excerpt: In the past, affected by the thickness of the cornea, nearly 10% of the patients due to myopia is too deep, the cornea is too thin, basically unable to accept the traditional LASIK and other laser surgery. Femtosecond laser surgery is not affected by corneal curvature, which is a great blessing for myopic patients with thin corneas and large variations in corneal curvature. Comment: If the myopia is too deep and the cornea is too thin, basically do not consider LASIK surgery, of course, will not consider the femtosecond laser flap LASIK surgery. Such patients should opt for refractive lens surgery or forgo the procedure. Laser surgery, including femtosecond laser surgery, is not foolproof and has contraindications. For patients with thin corneas and large variations in corneal curvature, care must be taken to comprehensively analyze the causes and underlying pathologies. The optimal surgery is one that is considered and designed individually for each patient, rather than using the femtosecond laser alone as a weight to attract patients. Misconception 2: Traditional myopia surgery has too many complications and more serious consequences Advertisement excerpt: In traditional laminar knife surgery, if the negative pressure ring loosening and other accidents occur during the blade rotation, the production of corneal flap will be a complete failure, which will bring great psychological pressure to the patient and the doctor. In the case of femtosecond laser surgery, if a similar accident occurs, the surgeon only needs to put on the negative pressure ring again and replenish the laser immediately. Femtosecond laser is much safer in making corneal flap. Comment: It is true that the traditional laminar knife puts psychological pressure on patients and doctors, but not that much. Especially for doctors, the vast majority of them have a good surgical comfort level in place. In the event of a complication during the keratome flap procedure, most are not so-called “complete failures” and most are either visually unaffected or remediable. It is not objective to exaggerate the complications of myopic surgery (including conventional LASIK). The incidence of serious complications of myopic surgery (defined as threats to corrected vision) is very low, with early reports being less than 0.5% and even lower in recent years. Some people have a fear of the “conventional knife”, but the fact is that the safety of the conventional knife has been confirmed and there is nothing to fear. LASIK involves either the use of a knife or a femtosecond laser, both of which are still being improved and are moving in the direction of greater safety. Certainly from the point of view of avoiding the knife, femtosecond laser technology is one of the directions for future development. As a matter of fact, not only LASIK surgery, but all laser surgery, the more objective, rational and refined the indications, the better it is done. Misleading three: traditional surgery is easy to infection, femtosecond laser has no risk of infection Advertisement excerpt: many laser eye institutions in the implementation of LASIK surgery, in order to reduce the cost of surgery, did not strictly implement the principle of “one person, one blade”, will be a disposable surgical blade used repeatedly, which greatly increased the cross-infection and other medical hazards. While femtosecond laser surgery process will not occur during cross-infection. Comment: Laser refractive surgery, including conventional laminar blade LASIK, is very safe and the probability of infection is extremely small. Moreover, laser surgeries in the ophthalmology departments of regular hospitals in China pay close attention to aseptic precautions, have implemented quality control, and strictly implement one person, one knife, so the potential risk of infection can be eliminated. On the contrary, if no attention is paid to aseptic operation and standardized management of surgery, even if femtosecond laser technology is used, the occurrence of infection cannot be avoided. Therefore, what is important for the infection problem is strict medical management. Misleading 4: Femtosecond laser replaces excimer laser Advertisement excerpt: Femtosecond laser LASIK surgery is an all-laser LASIK surgery that uses femtosecond laser to make corneal flap. Comment: The current use of femtosecond laser in myopia surgery is only used to make corneal flap, just like the traditional automatic corneal laminator. After the flap is created, it is still the excimer laser that makes the cuts in the stromal bed of the cornea. The outcome of the surgery does not only depend on the creation of the flap, but the performance of the excimer laser device is also the most important equipment factor that affects the outcome of the surgery. Of course, scientists are currently thinking about the possibility of using femtosecond lasers to complete the entire operation, but at present it is only limited to the exploration stage, whether or when it can be realized is not yet certain. Our viewpoint: femtosecond laser is not a panacea, and should be considered comprehensively when choosing a doctor The current viewpoint is that femtosecond laser does have certain advantages, but it still needs to be recognized dialectically. There are many factors affecting vision, and it is not the case that femtosecond lasers alone can improve the quality of vision, let alone a one-sided misunderstanding that conventional knives are useless. The full measure of surgical safety requires a combination of surgical approach and design. For low myopia, old eyesight (presbyopia), and some people who fight against impulsive sports or special occupations such as military personnel, public security, etc., the preferred choice is laser surgery such as superficial cutting LASEK/Epi-LASIK and PRK, not femtosecond laser. Another example is that for high myopia or ultra-high myopia, the limitations of laser corneal surgery are obvious, and there is now an increasing preference for refractive lens implantation, and femtosecond laser is not an option for this type of high myopia. Femtosecond laser is an already mature technology, but due to the use of femtosecond laser, it will significantly increase the cost of surgery, which is a big burden for both hospitals and patients, and whether its cost-effectiveness is worth the high cost compared to the traditional corneal knife is also a concern for many patients, so fewer units are carried out in China. It should be reminded that successful femtosecond laser surgery, in addition to equipment, must also consider the quality of comprehensive ophthalmology, the qualifications and experience of doctors. Because only with comprehensive ophthalmology knowledge can this “icing on the cake” surgery be really done well. Patients should consider the following factors when choosing a doctor: hospital, doctor, equipment, comprehensive level of ophthalmology. Now some places open a new laser operating room, but other basic ophthalmology clinics are not, in this case to do excellent surgery is unrealistic, patients should be vigilant.