Aesthetic & Refractive Surgery Medical Center

Dr. Randal Pham Innovates New Approach to Laser Cataract Surgery in Newly Published Research

Cataracts are opacities of the eye lens as a result of a number of different factors and become more prevalent with age; diabetes, prolonged exposure to sunlight, tobacco use and alcohol consumption are all contributors. Cataracts affect millions of people around the world and are currently the number one cause of preventable blindness. The new laser surgery for cataract has proven to be highly effective and safe in allowing surgeons to remove the existing lens and replace it with a new, man-made lens. This laser, termed femtosecond, fires for one quadrillionth of a second (a millionth of a billionth) into the cataract and breaks the cataract into small pieces to be removed by suctioning. This method of cataract surgery, however, has limitation for people with small eyes, but Dr. Randal Pham has published his innovative research work on a new laser method to bloodlessly lengthen the eyelid to allow successful completion of femtosecond laser cataract surgery.