Cataract Surgery Techniques
Using the extracapsular cataract extraction technique, the surgeon makes an
incision where the cornea and sclera meet. Carefully entering the eye through the
incision, the surgeon gently opens the front of the capsule and removes the hard center,
or nucleus, of the lens. Using a microscopic instrument, the surgeon then suctions out the
soft lens cortex, leaving the capsule in place.
Phacoemulsification is a modification of the extracapsular cataract extraction.
In phacoemulsification, the nucleus is fragmented by an ultrasonic oscillating probe. The
nuclear fragments are simultaneously suctioned from the eye. The size of the incision is
smaller that the incision needed to remove the capsule in the extracapsular technique.
An intraocular lens (IOL) is a clear plastic lens that is implanted in the eye
during the cataract operation. Lens implants have certain advantages. They usually
eliminate or minimize the problems with image size, side vision and depth perception noted
by people who wear cataract eyeglasses. They are also more convenient than contact lenses
because they remain in the eye and do not have to be removed, cleaned, and reinserted.
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