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Dropless cataract surgery is a new development in cataract surgery. It essentially eliminates the need for the patient to use eye drops after cataract surgery. In traditional cataract surgery, the patient uses eye drops to keep the eye infection-free.
In Dropless surgery, the doctor injects the necessary antibiotics and medications into the eye during surgery. The medication is utilized in the eye over the next several weeks, providing protection against swelling and infection. It makes for a simpler and more worry-free recovery.
Historically, some surgery centers have used compounded medicines (not Imprimis) including some with vancomycin or other medicines which has caused rare but serious complications. Imprimis® Trimoxy™ is FDA monitored and tested and has been shown to be extremely safe.
For your safety we only use FDA-approved and monitored compounds. We never use non-FDA approved compounded products for injection. Most of our dropless cataract surgery patients are very satisfied with the outcome of this technique and appreciate the fact that daily eye drops are not needed after surgery.
In a nutshell, Dropless™ cataract surgery:
The Science Behind It
When compared to patients who receive traditional drops after their surgery. Infection is one of the most worrisome complications of cataract surgery, as it often leads to significant visual impairment.
By best-fit studies, Dropless leads to a four to eight-fold decrease in infections. It is our opinion that the true benefit is actually much greater than this.
The Science Behind It
Clinically, we have observed patients experience dramatically less dry eye and irritation after cataract surgery with Dropless™ cataract surgery when compared to patients using traditional drops. The average person using traditional drops after cataract surgery uses around 250 drops in each eye, or about 9-12 drops each day.
These drops contain preservatives that are designed to inhibit bacterial growth, which unfortunately also affect the body’s own cells. This frequency of drop use is known to cause significant dry eye and/or irritation.
Nearly all patients receiving Dropless™ cataract surgery do not notice any dryness above their typical baseline they had prior surgery.
The Science Behind It
Most patients use more than 500 eye drops for a month after cataract surgery. All those eye drops really add up financially! Depending on your insurance, they can cost up to several hundred dollars. The cool thing about Dropless cataract surgery is that it doesn’t cost any more than traditional cataract surgery, so you could end up saving a few hundred dollars on eye drops.
The surgery itself doesn’t cost more than other cataract surgeries. Without insurance the medicines typically used would cost hundreds of dollars per eye. Dropless is paid for by the surgeon and/or surgery center. There is no cost to the patient. It also lowers the general system-wide cost of eye surgery.
The Science Behind It
Dropless™ cataract surgery:
A cataract is a cloudy lens inside the eye. You are born with the lens, but over time it can become blurry and foggy, impairing your vision. Cataracts don’t hurt, but they get worse over time, so it’s important to get them fixed when they first begin to affect your vision. Cataracts can form at any age, and most happen after the age of 50. Most of our cataract surgery patients are over the age of 50. If you are going to the eye doctor regularly then your doctor will watch out for cataracts. If your vision is cloudy and you think you may have cataracts, then make an appointment with us and we’ll see if cataract surgery is the solution for you!
Following cataract surgery, you typically need to apply eye drops. These medications help to protect your eyes from infections and inflammation. While essential, these drops can be inconvenient. You have to put them in several times a day, and you might forget. Dropless cataract surgery eliminates the need for any post-surgical eye drops.
The surgery itself isn’t any different than other surgical procedures. Your surgeon removes the clouded lens from your eye and replaces it with an artificial one. During the procedure, your surgeon also administers a combination of medications using a needle. So, instead of sending you home with eye drops, you go home with the medication already there. That gives you one less thing to worry about, which can be a relief.
Cystoid macular edema (CME) is swelling in the retina responsible for center vision. It may temporarily decrease vision in a healing eye and may require the use of drops for several weeks prior to resolving. The risk of CME goes up from 1 in 150 with traditional drops to about 1 in 50 with Dropless™ cataract surgery.
This risk can likely be mitigated through the use of various techniques and by avoidance of use in patients who are at higher risk of macular edema. Interestingly, for those with diabetic retinopathy, the risk of macular edema decreases with Dropless™ when compared to those who use traditional drops.
Retinal detachment has been found in studies to occur in about 1 of 1,750 cases. With Dropless™ cataract surgery it may increase to about 1 in 1,420. When injecting the medicine, we use techniques to minimize this risk.
This includes injecting in the appropriate areas 3mm posterior to the limbus in the pseudophakic eye; injecting only prior to full insertion of the needle; and visualization of the needle prior to infusion of medicine.
We also typically avoid Dropless surgeries in patients with a higher risk for retinal detachment, such as patients with highly myopic eyes, eyes with a history of retinal detachment, or previously vitrectomized eyes.
Consultation
Deciding between treatment options is hard. It’s really hard.
That’s why we have a team of counselors to help you weigh your options and choose which surgery or treatment is best for you. After you meet with one of our eye doctors, you’ll sit down with one of our counselors, Andrew, Lolita, or Char, and they will walk you through your doctor’s recommendations.
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