noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A form of cataract surgery in which the eye's internal lens is emulsified with an ultrasonic handpiece and aspirated from the eye. Aspirated fluids are replaced with irrigation of balanced salt solution, thus maintaining the anterior chamber, as well as cooling the handpiece. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   extracapsular surgery for cataracts in which ultrasonic sound breaks the cortex and nucleus of the lens into small fragments that are then vacuumed away through a small tube wordnet

Etymology

From phaco- + emulsification.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.