Illustration of the Swab Pressing Technique

In phacoemulsification, intraoperative incision leakage often occurs, especially after the withdrawal of a handpiece tip. Intraoperative leakage could lead to the transient collapse of the anterior chamber. With the help of an external slit illuminator, we found significant forward movement of the posterior capsule, iris, and intraocular lens. The posterior capsule or intraocular lens could make contact with the corneal endothelium. In this video, we applied downward pressure on the incision with a cotton swab immediately after the withdrawal of a handpiece tip for about 30 seconds, called swab pressing. This simple technique seems able to seal the incision instantly and may help to prevent the anterior chamber collapse and related damages without injecting a solution to hydrate the corneal stroma. Click the Related Article link for full details.