Cataract Surgery

The Byers Eye Institute Has Multiple Full-Time Stanford Physicians Performing Cataract Surgery

The Byers Eye Institute at Stanford Health Care is the first academic medical center on the West Coast to offer Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery using the Catalys® femtosecond laser. With technology developed here in Silicon Valley at Optimedica, a medical technology company with its roots based at Stanford, ophthalmologists at the Byers Eye Institute can now use laser technology to assist in the surgical treatment of cataracts, offering unmatched precision, control and safety during this outpatient procedure. This specialized surgery is used to treat patients with cataracts and astigmatism resulting in improved vision, decreased dependence on eyeglasses, faster recovery and less discomfort.

Whether using an intraocular lens to treat astigmatism, or using an intraocular lens to allow both clear distance and near vision, only laser-assisted cataract surgery can consistently create a perfectly round surgical incision to ensure ideal placement of the lens implant. Unlike other laser cataract systems, the Catalys system was designed here in Northern California in close consultation with leading surgeons and researchers from Stanford. The result is a device that provides the greatest degree of control for the surgeon along with safety, comfort and reliability for the patient.

Treating cataracts, astigmatism and more

Innovative laser technology allows the surgeon to create completely customizable microsurgical incisions with precision and reproducibility not possible with conventional techniques. This technology is ideally suited to treat patients who have cataracts as well as astigmatism, an irregular curvature of the cornea. Astigmatism can be partially managed at the time of surgery using either laser-assisted corneal incisions or through the implantation of specially designed intraocular lenses. As placement of these toric intraocular lenses must be precise, the creation of a perfectly round surgical opening is critical for the best possible
outcome.