DK Barrett Phaco-Axe with Rotator

The phaco axe is a wedge shaped instrument designed to produce a quick vertical crack of the nucleus during phacoemulsification. The wedge produces a fracture in the vertical plane of the nucleus along fault lines that exist aligned with the lens sutures. The axe manoeuvre consists of 4 steps, which occur in rapid sequence so that it appears as one fluid movement. Step 1 The initial step is to engage the nucleus deeply to at least 50 % of the nuclear thickness. A small amount of phaco energy is required to embed the nucleus, which is then held with vacuum alone. The phaco tip should not advance significantly beyond the centre of the nucleus so that there is sufficient space to place the axe in front of the tip.