The use of lasers for the fragmentation of the lens in cataract surgery is an interesting alternative to traditional ultrasonic phacoemulsificationCataract surgeryclinical resultsphacoemulsification energy studies. Since the beginning of phacoemulsification it has been a constant ambition to reduce the operative trauma and collateral damage of intraocular tissue during phacoemulsification. Parameters to be changed are operating time, total intraocular energy used, incision size, tissue heating, corneal endothelial cell loss and induced corneal astigmatism. During the last years different laser systems have been developed to minimize thermal and mechanical damage of the intraocular tissue (Alzner and Grabner in J Cataract Refract Surg 25:800–3, 1999; Dodick JM, Christiansen J. Experimental studies on the development and propagation of shock waves created by the interaction of short Nd: YAG laser pulses with a titanium target. Possible implications for Nd: YAG laser phacolysis of the cataractous human lens. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1991;17:794–4;Dodick et al. in Curr Opin Ophthalmol 4:107–9, 1993).