Photo Credit: LuisPortugal
The following is a summary of “Short-Term Outcomes Using a Novel Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Keratotomy Nomogram to Manage Corneal Astigmatism During Phacoemulsification,” published in the February 2025 issue of Clinical Ophthalmology by Truong et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy of a femtosecond laser-assisted astigmatic keratotomy (AK) nomogram (FemtoAK.com) for astigmatism correction during cataract surgery.
They performed cataract extraction with AKs and implanted a non-toric intraocular lens in consecutive individuals. The nomogram guided treatment for astigmatism exceeding 0.5 D against-the-rule (ATR) or 1.0 D with-the-rule (WTR) or oblique (OBL). Optical biometry and manifest refraction were assessed preoperatively and at 1 month postoperatively. Outcome measures included correction index (CI), index of success (IOS), and the proportion of eyes with residual astigmatism under 0.5 D and 1.0 D.
The results showed that 95 eyes from 69 individuals were analyzed, including 41 with ATR, 35 with WTR, and 19 with OBL astigmatism. The CI indicated an under-correction for ATR (0.86) and a larger under-correction for WTR (0.27), while refractive CI reflected near-ideal WTR correction (ATR = 0.87, WTR = 1.02). The proportion of eyes with refractive astigmatism below 0.5 D and 1.0 D increased from 28% and 54% preoperatively to 56% and 92% postoperatively, respectively.
Investigators concluded that the FemtoAK nomogram effectively reduced corneal astigmatism during cataract surgery, with refractive measures showing greater precision in astigmatic correction than corneal measures.
