Definition of Phacoemulsification

Phacoemulsification: A procedure in which the lens clouded by a cataract is broken up by ultrasound, irrigated, and suctioned out. Most cataract surgery today is performed using phacoemulsification. Before the advent of this technique, people with cataracts could expect a 10-day hospital stay followed by a lengthy recovery. Today, it is an outpatient procedure. Instead of making a large incision in the eye and removing the lens, the ophthalmologist can make a tiny one and then insert an ultrasonic tip which, vibrating thousands of times a second, breaks up the cataracts without damaging the surrounding tissue. The remains of the cataract are suctioned out.

Phacoemulsification was introduced in 1967 by Charles D. Kelman, an American ophthalmologist (1930-2004). In his memoir, "Through My Eyes: The Story of a Surgeon Who Dared to Take On the Medical World" (Crown, 1985), Dr. Kelman described how he went to a dentist have his teeth cleaned. "I sat in his chair, as he reached over, took a long silver instrument out of its cradle and turned it on," Dr. Kelman wrote. "A fine mist came off the tip but the tip didn't seem to be moving. He applied the tip to my teeth, and I felt an exquisite vibration and heard a high-pitched sound." Dr. Kelman asked, "What is that thing?" An ultrasonic probe, came the reply. "I knew this was the moment," Dr. Kelman wrote.

The word "phakos" in Greek is a "lentil" (a lentil bean). The prefix "phaco-" therefore refers to the lens which is lentil-shaped.