In cataract surgery, what is the function of the initial incision made into the cornea?

In cataract surgery, the initial incision made into the cornea serves the primary function of creating access for lens extraction. This incision is crucial because it allows the surgeon to reach the lens, which must be removed in order to address the cataract. The procedure typically involves phacoemulsification, where the cloudy lens is fragmented using ultrasonic waves and then aspirated out of the eye.

While irrigation of the ocular environment and the use of iris hooks may occur during various steps of the surgery, these are secondary actions that depend on the initial incision being successfully made to facilitate access to the lens. The primary goal of the incision is to provide a direct route to perform the core aspects of cataract removal and replacement with an artificial lens. Laser correction, unrelated to the incision's main role in cataract surgery, is performed before or after cataract surgery as an additional procedure, and not during the initial steps of lens extraction.