Phaco Fundamentals Part 3: Peristaltic vs Venturi Pumps

Peristaltic and Venturi Fluid Pumps With modern-day techniques of phaco-assisted aspiration of cataracts, one of the most important concepts in … More

Resident Case: Iris Prolapse during Cataract Surgery

When we encounter iris prolapse in a patient with a light-colored iris, we must be very careful because any iatrogenic … More

Phaco Fundamentals Part 2: Foot Pedal & Inflow/Outflow

Part 2 in our series focuses on the Foot Pedal Position and then balancing Inflow versus Outflow to achieve stable … More

Be Careful if you see the Hole Punch Sign during Phaco

In your first 1000 cataract surgeries, the most common cause of a posterior capsule rupture is iatrogenic damage from the … More

Embed the phaco probe in the nucleus without ultrasound

The classic teaching for phaco chop and quadrant removal is to embed the phaco probe into the nuclear piece by … More

Phaco Fundamentals Part 1: Choosing Steps of Surgery

Every Wednesday, we are going to start a new module to teach Phaco Fundamentals of machine parameters, including fluidics and … More

Converting from Phaco to Manual ECCE Surgery

While it is rare, there are times when it is important to convert from a phaco approach to a manual … More

Position the head so the iris is parallel to the floor

Proper positioning of the patient for cataract surgery is important for the comfort of the patient and the surgeon, but … More

Left-Handed versus Right-Handed with Phaco Incisions

It can be helpful to place our phaco incisions on the steep axis of cornea astigmatism in order to provide … More

Pearls for Using Iris Hooks to Expand Small Pupils

Sometimes, the best approach to expanding a small pupil for cataract surgery is to use iris hooks. These are small, … More

Achieving the State of Flow in Cataract Surgery

The psychological state of Flow is described as “energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment” of the action being performed. Some … More

White Cataract Posterior Capsule Rupture!

In this anonymous video from a surgeon in training, we have quite the challenge: a dense white cataract surgery where … More

Never make your phaco incision like this!

In this anonymous video we have a phaco incision that is very poorly made. The placement is too far from … More

How to fix Iris Prolapse in Cataract Surgery

In this resident performed surgery, we encounter iris prolapse after too much hydro-dissection. This results in the iris prolapsing out … More

Cataract Surgery after Prior Uveitis Issues

Doing cataract surgery in an eye with a prior history of uveitis can be more challenging than a typical case. … More

What beginner mistakes do you see in this pic?

Learning intra-ocular surgery is not easy and it can take years just to be comfortable with just the basics. Look … More

Proper Form for using a Keratome Safely & Precisely

you must learn proper form for keratome use in cataract surgery

Resident Surgeon Struggles with Phaco Chop

In this anonymous video, a resident surgeon struggles with phaco chop. It is not an easy technique to learn, which … More

Use the Chopper to protect the capsular bag

We work in a very tiny space of just a fraction of a milliliter: the volume of the anterior chamber … More

Understanding Reflux Mode during Phaco

Reflux mode is when you use the foot-pedal to reverse the fluidic pump of your phaco machine. Instead of aspirating … More

use of an AC maintainer in Cataract Surgery

An anterior chamber maintainer is an additional infusion cannula which is inserted via the cornea or limbus in order to … More

Failure to Pivot in the Incision causes Issues

One of the most common mistakes made by novice surgeons is the failure to pivot in the incision. This causes … More

The posterior capsule is wide open – now what?

This is a great learning case from one of our young surgeons in training. The video is 14 minutes long … More

Prevent posterior extension of a capsular break

This is a resident case that you really must learn from, even if you are an expert. During nucleus removal … More

Beginning Surgeon Learns Phaco Chop – so can you!

You’ve seen countless videos of phaco chop, but you seem to be stuck in a mode of less efficient techniques … More

Posterior Polar Cataract by Resident in Training

This is another case of a posterior polar cataract, this time performed by a resident in training. She does a … More

Pre-Chop the Nucleus to Help a Novice Surgeon

Today we have a video of a novice surgeon operating together with an experienced surgeon. The key maneuver in this … More

Resident IFIS / Iris Prolapse Cataract Case

Intra-Operative Floppy Iris Syndrome (IFIS) occurs primarily with the use of systemic tamsulosin (Flomax), a medication that aids in urinary … More

Little Technique to Rescue a Runout Capsulorhexis

The first time that I saw Brian Little, FRCS, FRCOphth demonstrate the technique for rescuing a runout capsulorhexis, I was … More

When to Revert to a Can-Opener Capsulotomy

We have learned from the past two days of videos, that it is sometimes wise to revert to a can-opener … More

Complications from a Failed Capsulorhexis

There is a great deal of learning from this video where a failed capsulorhexis leads to a host of issues … More

A Bad Capsulorhexis leads to Trouble

Today we present another case, submitted by an anonymous surgeon for review. We applaud this surgeon for sharing this complicated … More

Why you MUST learn Phaco-Chop (Resident Case)

A critical part of being an accomplished ophthalmologist is keeping up with the advances in your field. For cataract surgery, … More

For the Capsulorhexis: Femto or Forceps?

Was the capsulorhexis show in this photo done with a femtosecond laser, a micro-pulse electrical zap, or simply with capsule … More

Novice Surgeon attempts a Dense Brunescent Cataract

Today we feature a brave and talented young surgeon who has only about 30 cataracts of experience so far. And … More

Beginning Surgeon Stop-and-Chop Case

We did a survey recently and about 20% of our viewers indicated that they wanted more videos of novice surgeons … More

Draping is an Important Step of Surgery

Though we don’t often show the process of draping for cataract surgery, it is an important step of the procedure. … More

What does the patient actually see?

When we examine patients, we are looking at their eyes and their pathologies from the outside seeing in. We can … More

Bimanual Dexterity Improves Ocular Surgery

I tell my first-year ophthalmology residents to start doing daily tasks such as eating food, shaving, and brushing teeth with … More

Cataract Surgery Learning Grid

During ophthalmology residency, residents are exposed to cataract surgery in steps, starting from the most basic and ending with advanced … More

What I learned about Ophthalmology at age 5

I only remember a few things about kindergarten: playing handball during recess, watching Matilda eat paste, and learning the golden … More

Beginning Surgeon Cataract Case Analysis

Becoming proficient at cataract surgery is not easy and the learning curve is quite steep, particularly at the beginning. We … More

Posterior Capsule Rupture & Anterior Vitrectomy

Early in the learning curve of cataract surgery, beginning surgeons end up with a posterior capsule rupture about 5% of … More