phacoemulsification

This is the modern surgical technique for removing cataracts by breaking apart (emulsifying) the lens with ultrasonic vibrations.  During cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed from the eye. To pull this off, the surgeon first breaks the lens into tiny pieces before vacuuming it out. This is accomplished with a phacoemulsification probe. This ultrasonic technique is a huge improvement as it allows cataract surgery to be performed through a quickly healing microincision.  The underlying technology behind phacoemulsification has drastically improved over the past three decades, with less and less energy being required to get the job done.  Less energy means safer surgery and quicker healing times.  Attempts at using lasers to break up cataracts are being studied, but this hasn’t yet been found to work as well.