AbstractContemporary vitrectomy devices utilize an air driven stylus reciprocating within a sheath at a sonic frequency, guillotining and then aspirating the vitreous gel admitted through a distal port in the side of the sheath. A small handheld ultrasonic instrument (Banko 1971) operating at 50kHz, utilizing a solid titanium stylus, within a 20 needle gauge sheath, vibrating at an excursion between 150 and 200 microns, has been developed to precisely and rapidly liquefy and aspirate, at 360mmHg vacuum, vitreous humor from bovine eyes.