High Rate of Early Posterior Capsule Opacification following Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery

PURPOSE: To compare the rates of rapid posterior capsule opacification (PCO) formation in the first 3 months following femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) to manual anterior capsulorhexis. METHODS: Retrospective review of 29 cases of FLACS, comparing the rates of PCO in the first 3 months following surgery to 50 consecutive cases of manual anterior capsulorhexis. RESULTS: Seven of the 29 FLACS cases developed PCO requiring capsulotomy at 3 months, while none of the control cases required a capsulotomy over the same time period (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is an increased incidence of early-onset PCO following the use of femtosecond laser in cataract surgery that is otherwise unfounded in manual capsulorhexis. This suggests that the use of a femtosecond laser could increase the risk of this novel postoperative complication.