Limbal Relaxing Incisions
July 13, 2010DrHovanesian No Comments »LRI: Try Before You Buy
If you’re a surgeon who is reluctant to start using premium lens implants, why not try doing limbal relaxing incisions (LRI’s) as a first step in getting into refractive cataract surgery?
When I first went into practice over ten years ago, my confidence in my cataract surgery skills was still growing. Though my refractive outcomes were predictable and consistent, I was reluctant to adopt LRI’s as a value-added service for patients, even though my more senior colleagues encouraged me to offer them. Not until I was in practice for about two years did I start doing LRI’s routinely.
Now I look back on those two years and wonder why I took so long. How many patients did I leave with astigmatism who could have had a spherical result? How many of them would have been that much happier?
Astigmatism correction with LRI’s is truly a simple procedure that adds a great deal of value for patients. Consider the two pictures shown below, taken moments apart here in Laguna Beach. With the left hand picture, my camera was trying to autofocus through a -1.0 diopter cylindrical lens placed in front of the camera’s lens. The right-hand picture was taken with a plano sphere lens. The difference in clarity is significant and shows what a difference we can make for patients by simply correcting their astigmatism.
There are a number of good courses to teach astigmatism correction, and I’ve produced a brief video, which can be viewed in two parts below, that explains the process step-by-step.
I’d welcome comments from readers on how doing LRI’s has affected your practice.
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