Comparing the time efficiency of two lasers used in FLACS: real-world observational study

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate time efficiencies in the laser room for 2 different femtosecond laser systems. Setting: 1 private practice in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and 1 private practice in Los Angeles, California, USA. Design: Prospective, observational, single-masked study. Methods: Patients scheduled to receive femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) included those who were not pregnant, had no previous eye surgeries and were not scheduled to undergo additional surgical procedures at the time of treatment; patients who received a standard, monofocal lens without undergoing arcuate incisions were excluded. Patients taking FLOMAX [Astellas Pharma Inc.] or any Tamsulosin were also excluded from the study. Each comparable step in the LenSx [Alcon] and CATALYS [Johnson & Johnson] workflow was identified and clearly defined. Time for each step was evaluated and compared using t-tests and regression analyses to control for patient- and site-specific differences between the two groups. Results: Time data was collected for 89 patients (89 eyes). The overall procedure was 2.86 minutes shorter for LenSx when compared to CATALYS (p<0.05). Per patient, LenSx had significantly shorter patient positioning (57.26 vs 122.00 seconds; p<0.05), imaging (33.23 vs 42.17 seconds; p<0.05), laser treatment (21.57 vs 39.67 seconds; p<0.05), and undocking/transition (67.13 vs 185.30 seconds; p<0.05) compared to CATALYS. Regression analyses yielded similar results, with LenSx being over 35% (3.21 minutes; p<0.05) shorter overall than CATALYS controlling for location, age, gender, lens thickness, cataract grade, fragmentation pattern, and arcuate incisions. Conclusions: LenSx procedures were significantly shorter than CATALYS overall, which can enable ophthalmology practices to increase efficiency.