Many viewers of CataractCoach.com ask me why I prefer to have the phaco tip bevel down for cataract surgery. The … More
Category: fluidics
Finishing this case will be difficult
The reason why ophthalmologists need to perform at least 1,000 cataract surgeries until they are sufficiently up the learning curve, … More
easily aspirating the epi-nucleus
It is much faster and easier to aspirate the epi-nucleus using the phaco probe than the I/A probe because the … More
Setting your Phaco Speed Limit
The speed at which surgery happens during phaco is directly related to the aspiration flow rate, which is measured in … More
Fluidic Analysis during Phaco Chop
It can be helpful to see the machine fluidic parameters in real-time as the phaco chop procedure is performed. We … More
How to Evacuate this Hyphema
This patient was struck in the eye with a Champagne cork, which was traveling at a high velocity and hit … More
The trick to bring cataract pieces to the phaco tip
This is one of my favorite tricks to teach residents: when there is a nuclear piece of cataract in the … More
Quick Fix for Reverse Pupillary Block
In myopic eyes and post-vitrectomy eyes, we can get an overly deep anterior chamber during cataract surgery. The infusion pressure … More
Do not retract the phaco probe or you may lose infusion
When we break up the cataract using the phaco chop technique, we can end up with smaller nuclear pieces which … More
Phaco Fundamentals Part 10: Sample Phaco Settings
In the last of our 10 part series on Phaco Fundamentals, we present a video showing specific starting settings for … More
Higher Infusion Pressure Helps in Floppy Iris Cases
In our phaco fundamentals series, we have explained the basics of choosing fluidic parameters for the phaco machines. These settings … More
Aspiration Flow Rate should be high during final I/A
As we have learned from the phaco fundamentals videos / articles here on CataractCoach, setting the correct fluidic parameters is … More
Phaco Fundamentals Part 6: Adjusting Fluidic Parameters Intra-Op
We must learn to adjust phaco fluidic parameters during surgery. This helps to tailor the surgery to the specific eye … More
Phaco Fundamentals Part 5: Choosing Fluidic Parameters
Now that you have a good understanding of the principals of the fluidics involved in phaco surgery, let’s look at … More
Phaco Fundamentals Part 4: Poiseuille’s Equation
Modulating Fluid Flow: Poiseuille’s Equation The basic equation that governs all fluid flow during phacoemulsification surgery is Poiseuille’s Equation. You … More
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
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
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
Cataract Surgery in a younger patient with prior PPV
As we demonstrated recently, cataract surgery in a younger patient (under age 50) can be different than in the typical … More
Various Approaches to removing the Epi-Nucleus
When we perform hydro-delineation, we separate the dense endo-nucleus from the relatively soft epi-nucleus. This is helpful in multiple different … More
Be Cautious with the Wrinkly Old Bag
This is one wrinkly old bag! Of course, we are referring to the capsular bag in this cataract surgery. This … More
Adjusting the sleeve of the Phaco and I/A tip
For coaxial instruments like the phaco probe and the irrigation/aspiration probe, what is the best position for the silicone sleeve … More
The Angle Sweep Technique to Remove Viscoelastic
When we fill the eye with viscoelastic, we push it with the greatest force into the opposite angle of the … More
Dealing with Conjunctival Chemosis
We have covered the topic of the rules for an ideal phaco incision and one of them is to barely … More
Cataract Surgery with Glaucoma Shunts
Los Angeles is an amazing city which is very diverse and when I am teaching the UCLA ophthalmology residents, we … More