The Water Works

When performing cataract surgery, one of the steps that we commonly execute is called hydrodissection.

The cataract is inside a capsule, and the cataract does not freely move within the capsule when we first encounter it during surgery. However, we can inject a water-based solution into the potential space between the cataract and capsule. By running water through that potential space, a slight separation forms between the cataract and the capsule, which causes the cataract to move more easily. We view this as a type of “dissection” between the cataract and the capsule, which is of course performed by hydration. The increased movement caused by hydrodissection facilitates many of the rest of the maneuvers in the surgery. It really works!