[caption id="attachment_26987" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/COMMUNITY-OR-HEALTH-BMH-SURGERY-CENTER-nurnberg_151113_07406_2024_Edit-2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-26987" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/COMMUNITY-OR-HEALTH-BMH-SURGERY-CENTER-nurnberg_151113_07406_2024_Edit-2-300x200.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of Paul Nurnberg." width="300" height="200" /></a> Photo courtesy of Paul Nurnberg.[/caption]

Beaufort Memorial Ambulatory Surgery Center is now offering state-of-the-art cataract laser surgery that could potentially improve visual outcomes and reduce the risk of complications.

A year after purchasing the outpatient surgery center, BMH invested in the LenSx laser-assisted surgical system, making it possible for surgeons to remove cataracts with a precision and accuracy not attainable with traditional surgery.

The new computer-controlled system provides a sophisticated 3-D image of the eye, allowing the surgeon to create a precise surgical plan unique to an individual patient.  The surgeon then directs the laser over the eye to make the small corneal incisions necessary to remove the cataract. In traditional cataract surgery, a diamond blade is used to make the incisions.

In addition to creating better incisions, the LenSx laser allows surgeons to monitor what is going on inside the eye during the procedure.

Several Beaufort Memorial surgeons, among them ophthalmologists Drs. Richard Akers, Kenneth Farr, David Hunter, Jane Kokinakis and Mark Siegel will be using the LenSx to perform cataract surgery.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this advanced technology in Beaufort,” said Surgery Center Director Carolyn Evec. “Patients can now have refractive cataract surgery, astigmatic correction and presbyopia correction close to home with a state-of-art surgical system offering laser precision.”