Type of Surgery

Surgery.com / Vision / Phacoemulsification for Cataracts

Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009

Resources

BOOKS

Buettner, Helmut, ed. Mayo Clinic on Vision and Eye Health. Rochester, MN: Mayo Clinic Health Information, 2002.

Cassel, Gary H., Michael D. Billig, and Harry G. Randall. TheEye Book: A Complete Guide...

to Eye Disorders and Health. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

Jaffe, Norman S., Mark S. Jaffe, and Gary F. Jaffe. CataractSurgery and Its Complications, 6th Edition. St. Louis: Mosby, 1997.

Massengill, R.K. Supersight: The Lens Implant Miracle. Boston, MA: Health Institute Press, 1987.

Slade, Stephen G., Richard N. Baker, and Dorothy Kay Brockman. The Complete Book of Laser Eye Surgery. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2000.

Spaeth, George L., ed. Ophthalmic Surgery Principles and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Company, 1982.


ORGANIZATIONS

American Academy of Ophthalmology. P.O. Box 7424, San Francisco, CA 94120-7424. (415) 561-8500. .

American Optometric Association. 243 North Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141. (314) 991-4100. .

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 4000 Legato Road, Suite 850, Fairfax, VA 22033-4055. (703) 591-2220. E-mail: . .

National Eye Institute. 2020 Vision Place Bethesda, MD 20892-3655. (301) 496-5248. .

OTHER

"Cataract Surgery."EyeMdLink.com, [cited March 28, 2003]. .

Samalonis, Lisa B. "Cataract Surgery Today."Eye World, February 2002 [cited March 28, 2003] .


 
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This provides a very detailed, step-by-step animation of how cataract surgery is performed. It also show how an intraocular lens or IOL is inserted after the natural lens is removed in the cataract surgery shown.

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Ophthalmologists treating a patient for cataracts using phacoemulsification. (Custom Medical Stock Photo. Reproduced by permission.) Ophthalmologists treating a patient for cataracts using phacoemulsification. (Custom Medical Stock Photo. Reproduced by permission.)




In a phacoemulsification procedure, an incision is first made in the cornea, the outer covering of the eye (A). A phacoemulsification instrument uses ultrasonic waves to break up the cataract (B). Pieces of the cataract are then suctioned out (C). To repair the patient's vision, a folded intraocular lens is pushed through the same incision (D) and opened in place (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.) In a phacoemulsification procedure, an incision is first made in the cornea, the outer covering of the eye (A). A phacoemulsification instrument uses ultrasonic waves to break up the cataract (B). Pieces of the cataract are then suctioned out (C). To repair the patient's vision, a folded intraocular lens is pushed through the same incision (D) and opened in place (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)




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Other Information

Phacoemulsification refers to modern cataract surgery in which the eye's internal lens is emulsified with an ultrasonic handpiece, and aspirated from the eye. Aspirated fluids are replaced with irrigation of balanced salt solution, thus maintaining the anterior chamber, as well as cooling the handpiece.


Other Information

Surgeons aim for results of 20/20 or better so that you can perform most daily activities without your glasses. However, there is a possibility that after surgery, you may need to wear reading glasses or corrective lenses for at least some activities.


-Eye Surgery Education Council

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