An Experimental Study on the Mechanism of Corneal Endothelial Lesion during Pha- coemulsification and Aspiration

Objective:To evaluate the proportions of corneal endothelial cell lesion caused by different factors during phacoemulsifi-cation and aspiration. Methods: Fourteen cats(28 eyes) were divided into four groups. The processed factors were ultrasonic power, lens extraction by phacoemulsification or not, and lens extraction using different level of ultrasonic power. The density of central corneal endothelial cells was measured before and after operation. Results: In releasing ultrasonic power only without lens extraction group, there was no significant difference in density of central corneal endothelial cells between pre-operation and post-operation, but in the lens extraction group, there was significant difference in density of central corneal endothelial cells, and the higher level of ultrasonic power was used, the more the central corneal endothelial cells density decreased through operation. Conclusion: The primary factor that causes corneal endothelial lesion during phacoemulsification and aspiration procedure is debris of lens nucleus, and the other factors cause the lesion of corneal endothelium in normal operations just in very small degree.