Comparison of commercially available femtosecond lasers in refractive surgery

Refractive surgery is a procedure that requires excellence. Nothing less than the best is acceptable for an elective procedure that must be precise, accurate and safe. Femtosecond lasers were developed to help fulfill these requirements and have changed the field. The capabilities of the technology include not only the creation of corneal flaps for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, but limitless corneal- and lens-based incisions, as well as glaucoma and retinal applications that can break old paradigms. Manipulating biomechanics to correct presbyopia with the IntraCor procedure, the ''femtosecond-only' femtosecond lenticule extraction or SmILE procedures, intrastromal astigmatic incisions and cataract surgery are among the next exciting applications to this technology. New fields in refractive surgery can be opened and others can be expanded, as in refractive lens exchange, where its indications may be greatly increased, considering the new safety and precision standards that the technology can deliver. The expectations are huge and future studies will show how far we can go with the technology.