Mackool Eye Surgery Center
At the Mackool Eye Surgery Center, we specialize in cataract surgery. Our surgeons also regularly perform cornea surgery, LASIK and laser eye surgery, vitrectomy, and dislocated implant surgery. Located in Astoria, New York, we have been on the forefront of eye surgery for the past 40 years.
We have a long history of conceiving cutting-edge cataract surgery tools and processes.
In 1978, Dr. Richard Mackool conceived the idea of a computerized instrument that would more precisely control the rate of cataract removal and simultaneously balance it with the rate of replacement fluid entering the eye. The replacement fluid enters the eye through a second hollow needle that surrounds the vibrating needle. The first computerized instrument to control this process, and to thereby allow the pressure within the eye to remain normal during the operation, was the Mackool/Heslin Ocusystem.
Fast forward to 1993, when he patented a process that changed the design of the hollow needle in such a way that, after it was inserted into the eye, there was absolutely no leakage of fluid from the eye (between the outside of the needle and the tissues of the eye around the needle.) This has proven to be a critical step that permits even finer control of the pressure within the eye and greatly reduces the amount of fluid passing through the eye during cataract removal. Because of its ability to “seal” the incision, this FDA-approved instrument was called the Mackool MicroSeal System.
Then, in 2008, Dr. RJ Mackool advocated a technique during which a jelly-like “viscoelastic” substance is placed around the cataract just prior to its removal. Subsequent studies proved that this dramatically increased the safety of cataract surgery. This occurred because the viscoelastic protected parts of the eye, such as the lens capsule, during cataract removal with the vibrating ultrasonic needle. The viscoelastic actually separates the cataract from the lens capsule that surrounds it. We have found that it is then both easier and safer to remove the cataract with the vibrating ultrasonic needle. We use this “viscodissection” method for all of our patients undergoing cataract surgery.