INSTRUMENTS FOR CATARACT SURGERY

LANCE FOR NEEDLING SECONDARY CATARACTS IT HAS been my experience, in common with that of other surgeons, that one frequently runs into difficulty when one attempts a needling of a secondary cataract. The cataract seems to give way posteriorly instead of being incised according to standard technics. The principle used in cutting the membrane is the application of force posteriorly or anteriorly by a pushing motion. I have therefore devised a small lance which is barb shaped and has a sharp anterior tip. The inner surface, which is notched, is also razor sharp, and the instrument is used in the following manner: The lance penetrates the cornea to the limbic border and is then rotated vertically to engage the secondary membrane. The small sharp anterior tip perforates this membrane very easily, and the instrument is then pulled forward in an inverted V manner. The membrane is caught in the very sharp