A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens that causes vision loss. It occurs when protein builds up in the lens, making it cloudy and preventing light from passing through clearly. Surgery is the only treatment and involves removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. A new technique uses a femtosecond laser to precisely cut the lens into pieces and create incisions, which may reduce complications compared to traditional phacoemulsification surgery which uses ultrasonic energy and a handheld blade.

2. INTORDUCTION TO CATARACT
A cataract is a clouding, opacity, yellowing, or
accumulation of fluid in the lens of the eye that
results in a loss of vision and interferes with your
lifestyle.
Cataracts occur when there is a buildup of protein
in the lens that makes it cloudy.
This prevents light from passing clearly through
the lens, causing some loss of vision.
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3. Surgery is the only treatment
Surgery is recommended for most individuals who
have significant vision loss and are symptomatic
secondary to cataract.
There are two basic techniques for cataract surgery
1.Phacoemulsification
2.Femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery
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4.  Before the operation, eye drops will be put in the eye to dilate
the pupil.
 A local anaesthetic will also be given, which can be applied as
eye drops or given as an injection into the tissue around the
eye.
 The surgeon then makes a tiny cut in the cornea.
 A small probe that emits ultrasound waves is inserted through
your cornea into the eye to break the affected lens into pieces.
 These pieces are then liquefied and sucked out.
 A second probe sucks out the remaining soft pieces of outer
lens.
 When the affected lens has been removed, the surgeon inserts
a small plastic lens in its place.
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5. What is femtosecond laser?
A laser that emits optical pulses with a duration in the
range of femtoseconds (1 fs = 10-15
seconds)
Allows for precise cutting of tissue with minimal
collateral damage
Femtosecond cataract surgery is a viable alternative to
standard phacoemulsification.
It is as safe and effective and has some putative
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6. Although the steps for each laser platform vary, they
all require pupillary dilatation and topical anesthesia.
This is followed by delivery of the laser energy.
The procedure is performed in a sequence of
1.Corneal incisions
2.Capsulotomy
3.Lens fragmentation
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7. In traditional cataract surgery, the eye surgeon uses a
hand-held metal or diamond blade to create an
incision in the area where the sclera meets the cornea.
With the laser approach to cataract surgery, the
surgeon creates a precise surgical plan with a
sophisticated 3-D image of the eye called an OCT
(optical coherence tomography).
The goal is to create an incision with a specific
location, depth and length in all planes, and with the
OCT image and a femtosecond laser, it can be
performed exactly without the variable of surgeon
experience.
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8. The eye's natural lens is surrounded by a capsule that is very
thin and very clear.
 In cataract surgery the front portion of the capsule is removed
in a step called the capsulotomy, to gain access to the
cataract.
It is important that this capsule not be damaged during the
cataract surgery.
In traditional cataract surgery, the surgeon creates an opening
in the capsule with a small needle and then uses that same
needle or a forceps to tear the capsule in a circular fashion.
capsulotomy step works better with the laser in terms of
accuracy and reproducibility.
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9. After the capsulotomy, the surgeon now has access to the
cataract to remove it.
In traditional cataract surgery, the ultrasonic device that breaks
up the cataract is inserted into the incision.
During this phacoemulsification procedure, the ultrasound energy
can lead to heat buildup in the incision, which sometimes can
burn the incision and negatively affect the visual outcome by
actually inducing astigmatism.
But in Femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery the laser
breaks up the cataract.
During this procedure less/no heat produce.
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10.
BENEFITS
 Reduced risk of intraoperative complications, especially in
more complicated forms of cataract.
 The laser system allows for highly accurate positioning and
centration of the artificial intraocular lens, reducing optical
aberrations and refractive errors.
 Lens fragmentation by laser reduces the amount of ultrasound
energy used during phacoemulsification, reducing risk of
capsule complications and corneal injury.
 Potential to reduce the risk of capsular tear and intraoperative
complications during cataract surgery due to a stronger capsule.
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