Who Uses YAG Vitrolysis for Floaters?

June 9, 2009

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Dr. Ari Weitzner

I wonder how many of us do this for patients. I tried it twice with minimal success. No matter how much I shoot at it, it just kinda sits there. I am afraid to ramp up the power, lest I cause a shock wave that could create a tear. I also wonder how likely that complication is, anyway. I remember reading an article in the throwaways by a surgeon who does hundreds of these lasers, and he claimed great success with no complications, but he was also selling a special lens for this purpose, so I worry about bias.

 

 

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2 Responses to “Who Uses YAG Vitrolysis for Floaters?”

  1. Irv Arons on June 9th, 2009 5:03 pm

    I recall talking with an ophthalmologist in Florida (Scott Geller) who was doing this several years ago. At the time, I thought that the picosecond laser (which was being studied at the time) would do a better job — but to my knowledge, it was never used. Now that the femtosecond laser is in a lot of offices, someone ought to take a look at that laser for this application. A lot less potential for damage in the vitreous.

    My short Google search revealed that there may be 3 ophthalmologists in the U.S. now doing this; Geller in FL, Karickhoff in VA, and Johnson in CA.

    Irv Arons

  2. Irv Arons on June 11th, 2009 12:54 pm

    I just came across an article on this subject in the Washington Post, if anyone is interested.

    The article discusses how eye surgeon John Karickhoff has performed laser surgery more than 1,400 times over the past 15 years on patients complaining of “floaters” and claims a success rate of better than 90 percent, with minimal risk of complications.

    The articles notes that only a few eye surgeons perform laser surgery to treat “floaters”. While acknowledging that the laser treatment is often successful and carries little risk, most ophthalmologists believe any risk is unacceptable for treating a benign condition like floaters.

    The article references another advocate of the laser procedure with thousands of operations under his belt: Fort Myers ophthalmologist Scott Geller.

    The link to the article is:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013000119.html

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