Patent ID: 6984230

Claim:
An ophthalmic surgery instrument comprising: an instrument handle having a hollow interior bore; a rigid tubular sleeve projecting from the handle, the sleeve having reduced dimensions that allow insertion of the sleeve through an eye incision in ophthalmic surgery procedures, the sleeve having a hollow interior bore that communicates with the handle interior bore; an optic fiber extending through the handle interior bore and the sleeve interior bore to a distal end portion of the fiber, the optic fiber being movable relative to the handle and the sleeve, the sleeve surrounding the optic fiber in close proximity to the optic fiber with a majority of the sleeve interior bore being occupied solely by the optic fiber whereby cross-sectional dimensions of the sleeve and optic fiber are minimized for use in minimally invasive surgery; and a mechanism on the handle and connected to the optic fiber to selectively move the optic fiber between a pushed forward position of the optic fiber where the optic fiber projects a first distance from the handle and a pulled back position of the optic fiber where the optic fiber projects a second distance from the handle that is less than the first distance.