title: Middle prechop: Fracturing the middle portion of the nucleus.
abstract: To decrease the use of ultrasound power, prechop techniques such as preslice and Akahoshi prechop have been developed. We describe a technique that fractures the nucleus through the center of the lens before chopping. After a continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis is created, an ophthalmic viscosurgical device is injected into the anterior chamber and 2 modified cystotomes are inserted into the lens with a back-and-forth movement; a small amount of pressure from opposite sides is applied to fracture the nucleus. Hydrodissection is then performed, followed by phacoemulsification.
authors.affiliation: Cataract Service, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brazil. anbes@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Inara Nogueira
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Contin
authors.forename: Graziela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Paula Fernanda
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Baltar Pazos
authors.forename: Henrique Santiago
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Baltar Pazos
authors.forename: José Álvaro Pereira
authors.initials: JÁ
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D019923:Capsulorhexis; D006801:Humans; D007907:Lens Nucleus, Crystalline / Q000601:surgery*; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods*