CATARACT AND REFRACTIVE SURGERY
Nowadays, sophisticated technology is an integral part of contemporary medicine, especially when it comes to eye surgery. In recent years, cataract surgery, the most common eye surgery performed, has evolved into refractive surgery, which means that the eye surgeon can correct any refractory eye problems, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia, at the same time as removing the cataract. The correction of these problems in people who do not have cataract, but wish to stop wearing glasses or contact lenses, falls under the field of Refractive Surgery with or without laser. These two significant ophthalmic microsurgery subspecialties have improved the eyesight and the quality of life of millions of people throughout the world.
The Advanced Ophthalmic Microsurgery Unit at Metropolitan Hospital was established to meet the needs of people with refractory problems, including those with cataract, as well as all the other surgery subspecialties in the field of Ophthalmology. The sophisticated Unit equipment includes the Alcon LenSx femtosecond laser for cataract surgery and refractive surgery, the first in Greece and one of the first in Europe to be used for these two procedures; the Wavelight EX500 Excimer laser for refractive surgeries; the Alcon Centurion and Bausch & Lomb Stellaris PC phacoemulsification devices; the Leica and Molleer-Wedel surgical microscopes; the Verion Image Guided System diagnostic device and many more diagnostic and therapeutic devices.
FLACS (Femto Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery), the latest in cataract surgery, is performed with the use of an ultramodern femtosecond laser and ultrasounds through a tiny two-millimeter incision. This tiny incision provides great safety during the procedure. Moreover, given the size of the incision, healing and postoperative vision restoration is faster and postoperative surgically-induced astigmatism is also significantly lower.
Femto laser adds precision and safety to the early stages of the procedure as it creates precise one millimeter sections in the eye. Once the cataract lens has been fragmented by the femto laser with the special phacoemulsification ultrasound device, the contents are removed by aspiration. The intraocular lens is usually positioned in the place of the cataract lens, after being folded with a special instrument so that it is able to fit through the tiny incision. By using the appropriate intraocular lens, it is possible to correct existing refractory problems of the eye, with the ultimate goal of decreasing or eliminating the patient’s dependency on glasses or contact lenses.
Monofocal intraocular lenses focus on one of three distances (long, middle or near). In other words, they offer vision without glasses either for long distance (driving, watching TV), for middle distance (PC, manual work) or near distance (reading). The individual will need to wear glasses for the other two distances, unless an intraocular lens for a different distance is placed in each eye (Monovision method). If multifocal lenses are used, then glasses are not required in most cases.
The surgical procedure is performed under local anesthesia in the form of eye drops, without injections into the eye, and the patient can return home immediately after. The entire procedure is painless and noninvasive. Sutures are not required most of the time. An anesthesiologist is present during the surgical procedure to administer a relaxant to the patient, so they do not feel the stress of the procedure. The ultramodern operating rooms at Metropolitan Hospital can accommodate any anesthesiology need that may arise during the procedure, thus providing great safety in terms of the patient’s overall health. Routine cataract surgery lasts about 8-12 minutes.
The Advanced Ophthalmic Microsurgery Unit at Metropolitan Hospital boasts the latest generation excimer laser for the treatment of refractory problems. In case of Refractive Surgery, the eye surgeon implements a customized approach for each case. The excimer laser is able to correct up to 12 diopters of myopia, and up to 6 diopters of astigmatism and hyperopia. If an individual has a higher level of correction and a thin cornea, all the diopters can be corrected with the use of special intraocular lenses (anterior and posterior chambers) and corneal inlays.
Nowadays, presbyopia is the major problem of the middle aged. Presbyopia is an eye condition that affects your ability to focus on close-up objects and is due to hardening of the lens of the eye. It starts around the age of 45 and gradually deteriorates over the years. To correct presbyopia, the Advanced Ophthalmic Microsurgery Unit eye surgeons at Metropolitan Hospital can intervene by sculpting a multifocal corneal profile on the corneal surface using the excimer or the femto laser, creating myopia in one eye (Monovision method), or by adding a small corneal inlay and intervening in the lens of the eye with multifocal or monofocal intraocular lenses using the Monovision method. The surgical procedure on the lens of the eye is performed by using the femtosecond laser and ultrasound through a tiny 2 millimeter incision.
