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Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery

At Advanced Vision Institute of Williamsburg and Hampton, Virginia, our eye surgeons strive to bring you the most advanced technology in the industry. That's why we're pleased to announce our new LenSx Laser, which allows our Cataract Surgeons to perform a new cataract removal procedure, called "Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery."

Traditional cataract removal surgery entails removing the cloudy natural lens of the eye by using a technique that is called phacoemulsification. Phacoemulsification requires the eye surgeon to be highly skilled so that he or she can follow each step of the surgery manually. The manual phacoemulsification procedure allows the eye surgeon to remove the cataract through a very small (2-3mm) incision in the eyeball using fine surgical blades, and then to implant a multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) that restores full functional vision in patients after surgery.  Phacoemulsification is presently the industry standard in cataract surgery worldwide. Although a number of developments have occurred in lens implant (IOL) technology, the basic phacoemulsification procedure itself has remained largely unchanged over the past 20 years. Phacoemulsification has often been referred to as “laser eye surgery” which it is not. It is more appropriate to call this traditional cataract removal procedure “small-incision cataract surgery”, “sutureless cataract surgery”, or “no-stitch cataract surgery.” 

True Laser Assisted Blade Free Cataract Surgery has never been available to patients until today, with the introduction of the LenSx Femtosecond Laser.  Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery is different from the traditional cataract removal surgery because it is bladeless, also called "blade-FREE."  By using very short yet intense bursts of near-infrared light, the LenSx femtosecond laser creates extremely precise subsurface cuts without the eye surgeon's manual intervention. The blades traditionally used to create the small incisions in the eye have now been completely replaced by this LenSx laser, making the incisions more precise and predictable. In addition, the circular opening that is created in the patient's lens in order to access the cataract itself, which was traditionally performed manually by the eye surgeon, has now been replaced by the LenSx femtosecond laser, making the capsulotomies more architecturally round and centered.


The LenSx Femtosecond Laser brings an unprecedented level of safety, speed and precision to the cataract removal surgery! In addition to the precise incisions, the LenSx Laser also fragments the cataract itself, making it much easier for the eye surgeon to remove it and prepare the eye for placement of the intraocular lens (IOL). In short, the LenSx femtosecond laser has replaced many of the steps in the cataract surgery that were traditionally performed by the surgeon's hands, resulting in less surgical error, more predictable outcomes, and a more comfortable recovery time for the cataract patient.

If you are a candidate for cataract removal surgery, we urge you to contact Advanced Vision Institute. Our cataract surgeons will discuss all of your options with you, answer any questions you may have, and find the surgical methods and lens implants that best suit your needs!