CataractCoach 1186: Capsulorhexis danger zones

When I participate in a meeting, I always learn much more than I teach. I recently gave a graduation lecture remotely at the Jones Eye Institute at the University of Arkansas (you can find that lecture here). One of my favorite pearls that I learned from the meeting was the concept of capsulorhexis danger zones which is a concept from Ahmed Sallam, MD, PhD, a brilliant teacher.

He showed two red areas and explained that grasping the capsulorhexis while it is in these zones is a high risk maneuver which may result in loss of control. I watched a few of my videos and he was absolutely right: I almost never grab the capsule in these two danger zones. Instead, I tend to grasp and re-grasp the capsule in these green safe zones.

This is a great teaching point and I have already started to incorporate this into our resident cataract surgery teaching. Thank you Professor Sallam for a brilliant teaching point.