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Waterjet phaco not yet justifiable, study says
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WITTENBERG, Germany — Current waterjet technology is “not justifiable” as an alternative to standard phacoemulsification, researchers here said. The need for high pressures and long operating times makes current technology inefficient compared to ultrasound phaco, they said.
Researchers at the university here used the direct force of a waterjet to divide both soft and hard lens nuclei obtained by extracapsular cataract extraction. The study authors varied the pressure used and recorded the time needed for fragmentation.
All nuclei could be divided under the direct force of the waterjet. However, to emulsify hard nuclei, a minimum pressure of 10 bar was required. Soft nuclei could be fragmented with pressures of 5 bar, but operating times were increased, in some cases to more than 5 minutes. The study authors said these long operating times could be reduced by increasing the pressure to 10 bar, but lens capsules cannot tolerate pressures that high.
They called for development of waterjet phaco instruments that will not cause damage to intraocular structures.
The study is published in the April issue of Der Ophthalmologe.