Robust laser cutting methods for ophthalmic surgery

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for performing an ocular laser surgical procedure, comprising: a laser configured to emit a beam; optical elements configured to focus the beam emitted by the laser at a desired position on an eye of a patient; and a controller configured to control the laser and the optical elements, wherein the controller is configured to use a cutting pattern to control the laser and the optical elements, the cutting pattern comprising a vertical side cut thereby creating a flap, the vertical side cut traversing a plurality of generally diagonal paths, the cutting pattern further comprising a plurality of photodisruption points forming a generally circular cut around a periphery of a capsule of the eye, the cutting pattern extending from a start point continuously in an angular direction to an end point covering an angular range greater than 360 degrees, a starting portion and an ending portion of the cutting pattern overlapping with each other; wherein each photodisruption point in the cutting pattern represents a desired laser target point.