Today’s Practice Cataract Fundamentals

T oday, the aim of cataract surgery is not only to restore vision by removing and replacing the cataractous lens, but also to simultaneously provide instant and high-quality visual rehabilitation. Achieving a clear cornea immediately after surgery is the first step in this endeavor. One of the most important barriers to achieving clear corneas and sharp vision immediately after cataract surgery is damage from ultrasound energy induced during the procedure. The advent of ultrasound power modulation has dramatically increased the efficiency of ultrasound energy and minimized heat production, thereby decreasing the risk of thermal injury that contributes to endothelial cell loss and corneal edema.1,2 In addition to longitudinal ultrasound, which for many years was the only ultrasound modality available, there are now torsional and elliptical ultrasound modalities. Although these modes have advantages in terms of reducing chatter, increasing efficiency, and reducing the amount of energy used in the eye,3 the use of power modulation is as important with these modalities as with traditional longitudinal ultrasound.