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What happens during YAG capsulotomy?

3 min read

During YAG capsulotomy, you are seated at a laser slit lamp, a specialised microscope integrated with the YAG laser system, in the same position used for routine eye examinations. Your chin rests on a support, and your forehead presses against a padded bar to stabilise your head and eye during the procedure. ³ The clinician will have already dilated your pupil and instilled topical anaesthetic drops to numb the surface of your eye.

A specialised contact lens, typically an Abraham or Peyman capsulotomy lens, is placed gently onto the front surface of your eye after application of a coupling gel. ² This contact lens serves three purposes: it stabilises the eye, prevents blinking during laser delivery, and provides optical magnification to improve the clinician’s view of the posterior capsule and focus the laser beam accurately.

You will be asked to look at a fixation light or target within the instrument. The clinician uses the slit lamp microscope to visualise the posterior capsule behind your intraocular lens and positions the laser focal point precisely on the opacified capsule. The laser is then activated, delivering a series of short pulses, each lasting only nanoseconds, that create small disruptions in the capsular tissue. ¹ You may see bright flashes of light and hear faint clicking sounds as each pulse is delivered, but you will not feel pain.

The clinician systematically delivers laser pulses in a pattern, either circular or cruciate (cross-shaped), to create an opening typically 3 to 4 millimetres in diameter in the central posterior capsule. ¹ This opening clears the visual axis, restoring a transparent pathway for light to reach your retina. The entire process takes two to five minutes. Once complete, the contact lens is removed, and you may notice immediate improvement in vision clarity.

References

  1. Li J, Zheng J, Zhang S, Huang Z, He M. The Effect of Capsulotomy Shape on Intraocular Light Scattering After Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet Laser Capsulotomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2020;213:65-74.
  2. Wang L, Xiao W, He M, Yang X. A new technique for Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. International Journal of Ophthalmology. 2014;7(2):340-343.
  3. Aslam TM, Devlin H, Dhillon B. Use of Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy. Survey of Ophthalmology. 2003;48(6):594-612.

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About Blue Fin Vision®

Blue Fin Vision® is a GMC-registered, consultant-led ophthalmology clinic with CQC-regulated facilities across London, Hertfordshire, and Essex. Patient outcomes are independently audited by the National Ophthalmology Database, confirming exceptionally low complication rates.