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Femtosecond Laser Increases Precision of Cataract Surgery STORY HIGHLIGHTS The femtosecond laser has increased the accuracy of cataract surgery, emitting optical pulses at one-millionth- of-one-billionth of a second. The “micro-scalpel” reduces the time the eye is open and eases the stress on the internal structures of the eye, all with a precision that has opened new treatment avenues. UCLAHEALTH.ORG The femtosecond laser — a “micro-scalpel” capable of cutting tissues on a microscopic scale with extreme precision — has increased the accuracy of the most common surgical procedure in the United States. The instrument now being used for many precision cataract procedures at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute’s outpatient surgical center and the Doheny Eye Center UCLA in Arcadia emits optical pulses of a femtosecond — one-millionth-of-one-billionth of a second. scale with an incredible level of precision,” says Kevin M. Miller, MD, Kolokotrones Chair in Ophthalmology at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute. “With a femtosecond laser, we can operate more efficiently and more precisely. For our patients, it reduces the time the eye is open and eases the stress on the internal structures of the eye. And with such accuracy at our disposal, we believe that the laser will open new avenues of treatment that have never been possible before.” “A femtosecond laser can be thought of as a micro-scalpel, incising the cornea and lens capsule and breaking up the cataract on a microscopic Dr. Miller and other UCLA eye surgeons have been using a femtosecond laser to assist with several steps of cataract surgery, under imaging 1-844-4UCLADR (1-844-482-5237)