What is the safety of the femtosecond laser?

With the continuous development of technology and improvement of medical standards, myopia correction surgery has also started to develop rapidly. Since the 1970s and 1980s, myopia correction surgery has undergone four major stages in the past 20 years: the pioneering period, the popularization period, the enhancement period and the cutting-edge safety period. From the “originator” of myopia surgery, RK (radial keratotomy), to the latest generation of femtosecond laser myopia surgery, both from the improvement of treatment equipment, surgical innovation, surgeon’s experience and surgical safety are not what they used to be. The improvement of surgical methods: from knife to knife free, a qualitative leap has been achieved. From the earliest RK, ALK with a blade to cut the cornea to the 1990s laser refractive keratomileusis PRK, LASIK, to the emergence of the Aerospace femtosecond laser, both surgical methods and treatment concepts, have taken a qualitative leap. Traditional myopia surgery relies on a blade (lamellar blade) to cut the cornea and then irradiate the corneal stroma with a laser beam to precisely cut the cornea to improve the corneal refractive power. Femtosecond laser surgery does not use a lamellar blade to cut the cornea, but is a computer-controlled, all-laser procedure that is completely “blade-free”. Compared to the mechanical corneal laminate knife used in traditional surgery, the femtosecond laser is able to create a very precise flap thickness that is more than 100 times more accurate than the traditional corneal knife, allowing for more accurate cutting and thinner flaps. The use of the femtosecond laser also greatly reduces the incidence of dry eye after LASIK because the flap is cut at a uniform depth and damages fewer nerves and blood vessels, making myopia surgery safer and virtually eliminating the possibility of complications from the use of a handheld keratome. In addition, femtosecond laser myopia surgery is an all-laser procedure, which completely avoids the possibility of cross-infection. The improvement of treatment equipment: the whole process of visualization, control of intraoperative safety. 1, the former mechanical corneal knife to do the flap, you need to use hands and feet, hands to operate the knife head to stabilize, foot control negative pressure pump to be accurate; Femtosecond laser to do the corneal flap is to free the doctor’s hands and feet, the whole process is controlled by the computer, like a step from the era of slash-and-burn into the electronic era, safety to an unprecedented height. Secondly, from the computer-controlled excimer laser corneal shaping software, the increasingly perfect corneal shaping procedure makes us believe that in the near future, excimer laser can do any shape reshaping on the cornea, and then achieve the correction of higher refractive error, and get a more perfect visual enjoyment. 2. Visualization of the entire process is easy to control. After nearly 20 years of clinical use, the core of myopic surgery equipment development always revolves around safety control. With the advent of the femtosecond laser, the entire process of corneal cutting during Intralase surgery is truly visible, and problems can be detected and corrected in a timely manner, effectively avoiding possible errors during surgery and guaranteeing the quality of surgery. As a result, the surface of the corneal flap produced in each eye is smooth and uniform, and is very perfect, almost close to the original state of the cornea, when examined by slit lamp after surgery. Third, the doctor’s level of treatment is improved: more than 10 years of experience and more sophisticated technology. Laser myopia surgery is a procedure in which the surgeon uses the excimer laser to precisely cut tissue and reshape the curvature of the cornea with the excimer laser beam to correct myopia, which is essentially equivalent to cutting a concave lens of the right degree on the patient’s cornea, requiring a high level of skill. A quality laser myopia surgery requires not only a thorough examination and evaluation before surgery, but also advanced surgical equipment, correct surgical plan, accurate and thorough parameter design, skillful and delicate surgical skills, clean and comfortable surgical environment, and meticulous and solid post-operative follow-up. Therefore, the experience of the surgeon is decisive for the safety of the surgery.