Our guest surgeon, Dr. Anton A. Eijpe from the Netherlands, demonstrates his technique of capsular bag power washing using balanced salt solution. The technique involves using a 3 cc syringe with balanced salt solution and a 27g blunt cannula. After the cortext has been removed, the empty capsular bag is power washed using this BSS fluid. The idea is to remove any residual lens fibers or epithelial cells with the goal of lowering the posterior capsular opacification (PCO) risk. After IOL insertion and then removal of viscoelastic, further power washing can be done with more BSS.
Care must be taken to avoid touching the lens capsule with the 27g cannula because even though it is blunt, it is still able to penetrate and damage the delicate posterior capsule. If you wish to try this technique, I recommend starting with a gentle stream and then working up to a more forceful stream.
Pay attention to the cleaning of the capsule and bag with just a 27g cannula on a 3 cc syringe filled with BSS. I like to see a clean capsule during followup and relatively low PCO rates. – Dr. Anton A. Eijpe, The Netherlands
The entire cataract case is shown. Skip to the 8:00 mark to see just the power wash technique in action.
Click below to watch the video of the capsular bag power wash technique:
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