Mark Bischoff

First efficacy and safety study of femtosecond lenticule extraction for the correction of myopia Six-month results

PURPOSE: To prospectively study the feasibility of femtosecond lenticule extraction (FLE), a new method of refractive correction. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Philipps University of Marburg and Helios Clinic, Erfurt, Germany. METHODS: A flap and a lenticule of intrastromal corneal tissue were simultaneously cut with a VisuMax femtosecond laser system. Next, the lenticule was manually removed and the flap repositioned. The target refraction in all cases was −0.75 diopter (D). RESULTS: All 10 myopic eyes in the initial treatment group completed the final 6‐month follow‐up. The mean patient age was 39 years. The mean spherical equivalent (SE) was −4.73 ± 1.48 (SD) preoperatively and −0.33 ± 0.61 D 6 months postoperatively. Ninety percent of eyes were within ±1.00 D and 40% were within ±0.50 D of the intended correction. No eye lost 2 or more Snellen lines. Corneal topography showed large, prolate optical zones. Aberrometry showed no significant induction of higher‐order aberrations. On a standardized questionnaire, all patients said they were very satisfied with the results. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results indicate that FLE is a promising new corneal refractive procedure to correct myopia.

Femtosecond Laser Keratomes for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE)

The flapless SMILE procedure is the most sophisticated application of femtosecond lasers in corneal surgery. Today only the VisuMax femtosecond laser system from Zeiss is known to be suitable for this 3rd generation of laser vision correction procedure beyond PRK and Lasik. Combining modern optical engineering and proprietary lenticule design the VisuMax with its ReLEx option provides the technical basis for surgeons to perform this minimally invasive laser vision correction procedure.