In modern-day phaco surgery, we break the lens nucleus into smaller pieces before using the phaco probe to ultrasonically emulsify the cataract.
There are multiple different techniques of splitting the nucleus into smaller pieces, also called nucleofractis, and each has its advantages and downsides. Surgeons should be able to use all of the various techniques in order to tailor the surgery to the individual patient.
The original phaco techniques were one-handed, in which the phaco probe was used to bowl out the nucleus. There was no attempt to divide the nucleus into smaller fragments, and a