Phaco flip is an efficient procedure since the initial hydro-dissection brings the nucleus out of the capsular bag. If we combine this with phaco chop, we can be even more efficient in the disassembly and removal of the lens nucleus. This flip and chop technique works very well in most cases and it allows us to divide the cataract into two hemi-nuclear pieces within just a second or two.
Cataract surgery is not a race and the goal is not to do a rushed surgery. The patient is happiest if you are being very careful, safe, and efficient. By decreasing the surgical time and period of having instruments within the eye, we also decrease the post-operative inflammation. We want cataract surgery to be as minimally invasive as possible, while keeping a high level of safety and accuracy.
For doing flip and chop, make sure that you follow a few guidelines:
- make a sufficiently large capsulorhexis, at least 5 mm in diameter
- do not use this technique if the capsulorhexis is not intact or if it is radialized
- slow and steady is the way to hydro-dissect the nucleus out of the bag
- re-coat the corneal endothelium with dispersive viscoelastic prior to phaco
- use phaco power modulations to limit the ultrasonic energy
Click below to watch this highly efficient flip and chop technique in action:
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