Appendix 1
Detailed ECCE Procedure

1) place lid speculum

Goals Keep lashes and lids out of the way
Big potential screw-ups: Abrade cornea
Direct lashes the wrong way

2) bridle suture

Goals Keep eye in infraduction
allow access to superior limbus
Big potential screw-ups: driving 4-0 silk into vitreous

assistant: holds eye in infraduction and says "bridle suture"
you: left: O'Brien forceps 8 mm superior to limbus wide grasp of Sup Rectus tendon
right: 4-0 Silk suture passing needle just under forceps through tendon
you:   tie the silk and secure to drape with hemostat


3) make the cystitome it's really a capsulotome as you are going to cut the capsule with it

Goals save money for VA by making it youself
Big potential screw-ups: hard to screw this part up
making the cystitome too big ("it's so big")

assistant: "so far all is going well, cystitome"
you: left: take TB syringe and 5/8" long 25 gauge needle
right: use needle driver to bend tip of needle 90 degrees


4) peritomy

Goals Get the conjunctiva out of the way
Big potential screw-ups: Shredding the sclera
Removing pieces of conjunctiva

assistant: "so far all is going well, cystitome"
you: left: 0.12 forceps grab and tent up the conjunctiva and tenons 2 mm sup limbus
right: w/ Wescott scissors cut through conjunctiva and tenons to sclera at 10:00
Continue with blunt dissection to clear a tunnel from about 10 to 2 o'clock
With one blade inside tunnel/one out, cut off the conjunctiva at the limbus
relaxing incision to expose the sclera at 2:00
 
assistant: "calipers at 11 mm" and shows you how much to clean at the limbus
you: left: 0.12 forceps on sclera controlling the globe
right: Gill knife to scrape away the remaining episcleral tissue
 
assistant: dabs away blood with Weck cell sponge
you: left: still with the 0.12 on sclera controlling globe -- get used to it
right: bipolar cautery to control bleeding
keep the tips barely separated and stay on the sclera and off the conjunctiva


5) groove

Goals Carve a groove into limbus to guide cut later
Big potential screw-ups: Entering the anterior chamber prematurely
Groove posterior to limbus resulting in iris
   prolapse during later phases of operation

assistant: shows you 11 mm again with the calipers
you: left: on the sclera with the 0.12 forceps controlling the globe
right: #64 beaver blade starting at 2 o'clock on limbus to 10 o'clock (11 mm)
Hold blade using Taylor technique (roll with thumb and first finger)
partial thickness about 1/3 depth in one smooth slow stroke
handle is perpendicular to the eye and blade stays tangential to limbus


6) entering the eye

Goals Cut a slit at limbus to allow instruments in
Small enough cut to help maintain chamber
Big potential screw-ups: Slice up the iris as you enter

you: left: on the sclera with 0.12 controlling the globe
right: with keritome enter anterior chamber through groove at 11:30
keep blade parallel to iris plane


7) anterior capsulotomy

Goals Form the chamber with Healon (viscoelastic)
Cut out the anterior lens capsule
Big potential screw-ups: Pulling and not cutting the capsule
   (resulting in zonular dehiscence)
Cutting too peipheral through the zonules

assistant: "Healon and side lights down, coaxial lights up, and room lights off"
you: left: secure Healon syringe and direct cannula into anterior chamber
right: depress plunger to fill anterior chamber (from inferior to superior)
 
assistant: "cystitome"
you: both enter eye with cystitome point parallel to iris
rotate cystitome with tip now pointing to the anterior capsule
puncture the capsule at the 6 o'clock position
move the tip circumferentially cutting the capsule to about 6:30 o'clock
lift the tip and repuncture at 6:30 o'clock and repeat until you get to 12:00
go back to 6:00 again and now go circumferentially to the left
complete casulotomy to 12:00 and exit eye with cystitome
you: right: enter anterior chamber with closed Kellman McPherson forceps
open forceps over anterior capsule
move forceps down over the capsule and close to grasp the capsule
remove the capsule from the eye


8) freeing the nucleus

Goals Separate the nucleus from cortex
Position the nucleus for easy expression
Big potential screw-ups: Breaking zonules by being too rough

you: both enter the eye with the cystitome as before
gently jam the point of the cystitome into the lens nucleus at 9:00 o'clock
gently rock the lens nucleus away from the cortex
repeat at 3:00, 6:00, and lastly at 12:00
spin the nucleus a bit for fun to ensure its free from cortex
if possible leave the nucleus tipped so that the inferior aspect is posterior
assistant: "gently doctor"


9) enlarging the wound

Goals Get the wound big enough to express nucleus
Big potential screw-ups: Cutting the iris along with the wound
Stripping Descemet's membrane
Getting out of the groove as you cut

assistant: "castro's to the left"
you: left: 0.12 forceps on sclera to control globe
right: put one blade of Castroviejos into eye keeping away from iris
guide the outside blade onto groove and cut along groove its full extent
watch the blade tip inside the eye and stay up and away from the iris
assistant: "castros to the right"
you: right: same maneuver to the other side (some use the other hand)


10) Safety sutures

Goals Pre place sutures to allow quick closure
Big potential screw-ups: Place them too close to each other
(so that later the lens can't pass between them)

assistant: "7-0 vicryl/calipers at 7 mm" and shows you where to put two safety sutures
you: left: use 0.12 forceps to grab cornea at caliper mark at around 1:30
right: drive 7-0 vicryl through 2/3 depth cornea and through adjacent sclera
assistant: cuts suture long
 
you: reload needle and repeat at the other caliper mark around 10:30
 
you right grab the vicryl between cornea and sclera and pull out loop of slack
allows for expansion of the corneoscleral wound during lens expression


11) Nucleus expression

Goals Get out the nucleus and leave the rest intact
Big potential screw-ups: Expressing vitreous
Not recognizing the wound is too small

you right 0.12 forceps grasping the posterior lip of the wound at 12 o'clock
press gently down on the posterior lip of the would
rotate the 0.12 forceps more parallel with the iris to make a lens ramp
left if needed gently press at 6:00 o'clock with a muscle hook
 
assistant uses a needle to spear the nucleus as it exits the wound
your first thought if the lens doesn't come should be to expand the wound


12) Securing the chamber

Goals Grossly closing the wound
Big potential screw-ups: Just close the wound

you both use large tying instruments to secure the two safety sutures
left 0.12 forceps grasping cornea at 12 o'clock
right place another 7-0 vicryl this time at 12 o'clock
both use large tying instruments to tie last safety suture


13) Aspiration of cortical material

Goals Removing the remaining lens cortical material
Big potential screw-ups: Aspirating and tearing the posterior capsule
Aspirating and tearing the anterior capsule

assistant "room lights off and set up the McIntyre"
you both enter with McIntyre cannula between sutures at 1 o'clock
aspiration port should always be looking at you (anterior)
engage cortex by slipping port under iris (and anterior capsule)
assistant will provide appropriate suction with syringe to tug on cortex
once engaged pull cortex slowly to the middle and assistant will aspirate
change position of entry to get cortex close to 12 o'clock
never aspirate unless you have cortex engaged
watch for "spiders" (posterior capsule tension lines)


14) Lens placement

Goals Putting the lens in the bag or sulcus
Big potential screw-ups: Placing one haptic in bag and one in sulcus
Rupturing capsule during placement
Putting in the wrong power of lens

assistant "open the posterior chamber lens" and cuts safety suture at 12 o'clock
you both fill the anterior chamber with Healon
right hold IOL container and verify lens power
left use straight tying instrument to hold inferior haptic of IOL
     (inferior haptic should always point left)
raise IOL above container
right grasp inferior haptic and optic with Kelman forceps
left 0.12 forceps lift cornea
right with Kelman forceps place IOL through wound into anterior chamber
direct inferior haptic posterior into the capsular bag
left stabilize IOL optic with side of 0.12 forceps (do not grasp)
right release IOL and gently remove Kelman forceps from eye
right grasp superior haptic with Kelman forceps at tip (supinate)
gently advance tip of superior haptic
twist (pronate) to bend "knee" of haptic inferior under iris
release haptic under iris to place entire IOL into position
right rotate the lens if needed with a Sinsky hook


15) Closure

Goals Water tight closure
Minimal astigmatism
Big potential screw-ups: Wound Leak or gape post op
Suturing the iris along with the cornea
Demonstrating that you have not practiced at all

assistant "10-0 please and room lights on"
you left 0.12 forceps to present tissue to the needle driver
right drive 10-O nylon with bite to about 2/3 corneal depth
start at the 12:00 o'clock position (where safety suture used to be)
same depth through the sclera
try to keep them radial with equal tension
slow and deliberate is better than fast with lots of rework
you both place about 7
tie with micro tying instruments with 3 throws, then 1 and 1 throw
assistant cuts suture ends for you long
you remove remaining two vicryl safety sutures
assistant "McIntyre please" and assists with aspiration
you both direct the McIntyre port over the IOL facing you as always
assistant will aspirate the remaining Healon and cortical debris cleanup
you complete closure as needed
assistant/you check wound with Weck cell sponge pressing on posterior edge
you left straight tying instrument grab long end of 10-O
right trim ends with #75 super sharp


16) Completing the case

Goals Injections of antibiotic and steroid
Patching
Big potential screw-ups: Injecting into the vireous cavity
"didn't know he was allergic to gentamicin"
Patching the eye open

assistant "injections please"
you left tent up inferior conjunctiva with 0.12 forceps
right before injecting ask yourself: "any allergies?"
with bevel down inject Ancef and decadron
place into subconjuctival space avoiding vessels
both remove lid speculum and drapes
place ointment (eg. tobradex)
double patch with benzoin


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