The YAG laser: an American experience.

We used the OPL3 neodymium-YAG laser to treat 86 patients, 41 male and 45 female, for secondary opacification of an intact posterior capsule one month to four years after planned extracapsular cataract extraction or phacoemulsification, with or without intraocular lens implantation. Visual acuities improved as a function of corneal and macular competence, and careful post-procedure examination revealed no deleterious corneal, iris, vitreal or retinal side effects of the laser treatments. In some of the treated eyes, the implants had single or multiple, small (0.5 mm) white spots on their posterior aspects, or thin linear defects centrally, but in no case was this visually evident to the patient.