This is a complete cataract case, shown start to finish, using the tilt and chop technique. This is like the flip and chop technique, but instead of flipping the nucleus, it is just tilted out of the capsular bag. By tilting the nucleus, we are able to trap the nucleus between the chopper and the phaco probe tip and then easily split it. And then bringing the first hemi-nucleus to the phaco tip is very efficient since it is already partially out of the capsular bag. Remember that this is not anterior chamber phaco and there is minimal if any effect on the corneal endothelium. This patient had a completely clear cornea on post-op day 1 and achieved outstanding vision. For our less experienced surgeons, please do not confuse efficiency with speed. Rushing a surgery to perform it as fast as possible is not the goal. Our goal is to be minimally invasive which means decreasing the ultrasonic energy, decreasing the fluid put through the anterior segment, and also decreasing the time that instruments are inside the eye. And this is done all while emphasizing safety.
