Surgeon: Time not right for integration of femtosecond cataract surgery in public sector

BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, Italy — Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery has not, to date, achieved results that would justify its introduction in the public sector in Italy, according to one surgeon.“It would bring no advantages to our public health system. Evidence of the cost-effectiveness of this procedure is lacking. Costs are exorbitantly high, and clinical quality improvements are not yet significant compared to the results of conventional phaco. These parameters need to change before we even discuss its introduction into public hospitals,” Alessandro Galan, MD, told Ocular Surgery News at the Bassano Ophthalmology Meeting.