The patient is given intravenous analgesia and cardiovascular monitoring by the anesthesiologist. The patient is then prepped and draped so as to expose the left eye in a sterile field. A Barraquer lid speculum is inserted.
Intraocular pressure is normal to palpation.
The globe is in good position for surgery, so no superior rectus bridle suture is needed. A corneal stab incision is made through peripheral cornea at the 3 o'clock meridian into the anterior chamber with a 15 degree razor blade. The anterior chamber is filled with Vitrax. Following this, an anterior capsulorrhexis, 5.5-mm in diameter, is performed using Stolte forceps and cystotome. The nucleus is hydrodelineated from cortex by injection of balanced salt solution and the nucleus is phacoemulsified by dividing it into quadrants and phacoemulsifying each quadrant separately in the posterior chamber.