Capsulorhexis assisted by slit illuminator for white cataract without a red reflex.

The authors investigated the clinical efficacy of a slit illuminator in a surgical microscope during capsulorhexis for white cataract. After staining the anterior capsule, the slit illuminator was adjusted to a width of 3 mm and a height of 12 mm using the slider to obtain a high-contrast image of the anterior capsule, and an angle of 30 degrees to both the left and right was possible using the arc guide. After the anterior capsular puncture was done, a capsulorhexis forceps was used to grasp the capsular edge and a continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis was successfully performed in all 10 cases. Using a slit illuminator in a surgical microscope seems to be a valuable technique for performing a continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis on a mature or intumescent cataract that has no red reflex and high intralenticular pressure.