Preventing Corneal Burns during Phacoemulsification

Extraction of lenses for cataract surgery is one of the most frequent outpatient surgical procedures; more than three million cases are performed annually in the United States. Phacoemulsification is the commonly used method for cataract extraction. Phacoemulsification systems (also known as phacoemulsifiers, cataract extraction units, or simply, phaco units) apply high-frequency oscillations to remove a cataractous lens from the patient’s eye. A cataract is a foggy area in the normally transparent lens that reduces light transmission to the retina and causes cloudiness of vision. The lens is then replaced with an artificial lens.