Experimental study comparing 2 different phacoemulsification systems with intraocular pressure control during steady-state flow and occlusion break surge events.

Purpose: To compare peak surge and surge duration time after occlusion break, incision leakage compensation, and passive vacuum for 2 phacoemulsification systems.

Setting: Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Oberkochen, Germany.

Design: Laboratory study.

Femtosecond laser capsulotomy.

Purpose: To evaluate a femtosecond laser system to create the capsulotomy.

Setting: Porcine and cadaver eye studies were performed at OptiMedica Corp., Santa Clara, California, USA; the human trial was performed at the Centro Laser, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with integrated optical coherence tomography.

About one-third of people in the developed world will undergo cataract surgery in their lifetime. Although marked improvements in surgical technique have occurred since the development of the current approach to lens replacement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, some critical steps of the procedure can still only be executed with limited precision. Current practice requires manual formation of an opening in the anterior lens capsule, fragmentation and evacuation of the lens tissue with an ultrasound probe, and implantation of a plastic intraocular lens into the remaining capsular bag.

The physics of phaco: a review.

Despite its unparalleled success in the field of surgery, the precise mechanism of ultrasonic phacoemulsification cataract extraction remains controversial. We review the relevant peer-reviewed literature on the subject of power generation and tip-tissue interactions to clarify the current status of our knowledge. We conclude that phacoemulsification most likely operates by a combination of mechanisms, including direct action of the vibrating tip against tissue and indirect cavitational effects.