Oval capsulorhexis for phacoemulsification in posterior polar cataract with preexisting posterior capsule rupture

Singh, Kiranjit; Mittal, Vikas; Kaur, Harmit

doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2011.04.017

« Previous Next »Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
Volume 37, Issue 7 , Pages 1183-1188, July 2011

Oval capsulorhexis for phacoemulsification in posterior polar cataract with preexisting posterior capsule rupture

Presented at the 60th annual meeting of the Delhi Ophthalmological Society, New Delhi, India, March 2009; the 23rd annual meeting of the North Zone Ophthalmic Society, Gurgaon, India, October 2009; and the annual meeting of the Intra-ocular Implant & Refractive Society of India, New Delhi, India, August 2009.

From the Daljit Singh Eye Hospital (Singh, Kaur), Amritsar, and the Sanjivni Eye Care (Mittal), Model Town, Ambala, Haryana, India

Received 6 December 2010; received in revised form 23 February 2011; accepted 24 February 2011.

We describe use of an oval capsulorhexis rather than the conventional circular capsulorhexis for phacoemulsification in posterior polar cataract with preexisting posterior capsule rupture. An oval capsulorhexis minimizes the turbulence in the capsular bag by increasing the area available for efflux of fluid. It also enables end-to-end nuclear sculpting, removal of the nuclear fragment from the bag, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and vitrectomy without stretching the capsular bag. The smaller axis of the oval capsulorhexis facilitates optic capture of a sulcus-fixated IOL. The oval capsulorhexis can be used safely for phacoemulsification of all grades of nuclear sclerosis in posterior polar cataract with preexisting posterior capsule rupture.