Cataracts are the leading cause of sight loss in Canada. Fortunately, with a relatively short surgery, vision is often improved or corrected entirely.

Each cataract surgery takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and William Osler Health System’s (Osler’s) skilled surgical teams perform thousands of them every year. Although the surgery itself is relatively short, the process relies on a number of pre-operative and post-operative steps and several important pieces of equipment, including the Phaco machine.

Your eye’s lens is a combination of water and proteins that normally allow light to pass through. As the proteins clump together over time, the lens hardens and can turn cloudy, blocking light from reaching the retina and causing vision disturbances. During cataract surgery, the surgeon makes a small incision in the eye and then uses the Phaco machine to break up the existing lens, which is then replaced with an intraocular lens, a tiny artificial lens for the eye.

A standard Phaco machine consists of a handpiece, a foot pedal, an irrigation system and an aspiration pump. The machine uses ultrasound energy in a process called phacoemulsification, which is considered the safest method of cataract surgery.

Phaco machines help to ensure that cataract surgery is an efficient and minimally invasive process. With this important tool, Osler physicians can provide life-enhancing cataract surgery to so many in the community in just a short hospital visit.

100% of hospital equipment is funded by the community. Can you help us to get vital equipment, like Phaco machines, into the hands of our Osler team members?