Small incision cataract surgery video download

The remainder of the capsule is maintained to serve as a 'bag', which holds the newly inserted intraocular lens (IOL).

During phacoemulsification cataract surgery, a procedure described later in this tutorial, the anterior part of the capsular bag is opened so that the nucleus and cortex of the lens can be removed. Changing the shape of the bag changes the shape of the lens, thus allowing accommodation to occur. The previously mentioned zonules are connected to the capsule's equator. This is the basement membrane of the lens epithelium (which becomes those fibers mentioned above) and is referred to as 'the bag' by the ophthalmologist. The nucleus and cortex are surrounded by a transparent elastic membrane called the capsule. This accumulation increases both the thickness and width of the lens while compressing and hardening the nucleus. Instead, they are preserved, which means that the mass of the lens increases over our lifetime, from approximately 1.5 million fibers at birth to 3.5 million fibers at 80 years of age. These layers are not refreshed or renewed. Similar to the rings on a tree, the youngest layer is always the most peripheral. The nucleus will always remain the most central and oldest part of the lens.Īs we age, layers of transparent fibers are created and layered around the nucleus to create the cortex.

As we age, additional layers are added to the outside of the nucleus creating the cortex of the lens. The nucleus represents the majority of the lens that is present when we are born. In the center of the lens is the nucleus.

Small incision cataract surgery video download