No Stitches?

In cataract surgery today, stitches are rarely used.

“What??? How is my eye supposed to stay intact after surgery when there are no stitches???”

The method of creating incisions that most surgeons use involves creating a self-sealing angled incision. The incision is essentially square in ideal formation, being as long tunneling through the tissue as it is wide. When the incision is made like that, it usually self seals very well and can hold high pressures without leaking.

HOWEVER, there is nothing holding it together per se, so pushing on the walls of the incision can cause it to open. That is why we always tell our patients not to rub their eyes after surgery!