Pre-chopping the nucleus means that we are splitting it into quadrants prior to placing the phaco probe in the eye. This can be done with pre-chop instruments, two choppers, or even just a cannula with a chopper. In this video our guest surgeon carefully uses two ball-tipped horizontal choppers to trap the nucleus and then split it into quadrants. This is a tricky procedure for a surgeon who has done less than 1000 cataract surgeries since the instruments must be precisely balanced to avoid damaging the capsular bag.
