RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN OPHTHALMIC LASERS

Recent developments in the field of ophthalmic lasers include new improvements and upgrades in existing units, new laser delivery systems and new wavelengths, and new applications for treating a wide variety of ophthalmic diseases. In the field of retinal disease, the efficacy of laser treatment in diabetic edema and of panretinal photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy have been studied. Complications related to the use of these therapeutic techniques are discussed. The diode laser, which emits at a wavelength of 810 nm, has been found to be clinically useful in the treatment of retinal disease. In the area of glaucoma, a better understanding of argon laser trabeculoplasty and peripheral iridotomy is presented, and comparisons are made with other laser systems, including the neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet and diode lasers. The benefits of contact and noncontact neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet lasers are discussed. In the area of corneal disease, early results from clinical trials of photorefractive and phototherapeutic applications of the excimer laser appear encouraging and suggest that this laser system will play a vital role in the treatment of a number of diseases. Finally, the neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser and argon laser are finding a role in the field of oculoplastics.