A novel design silicone oil removal cannula

Background: Silicone oil, which is one of the most commonly used endotamponades in vitreoretinal surgery, is removed after a certain period of time in most cases. In this study, we present our results with a unique cannula that provides effective and safe silicone oil removal. Aims and Objectives: To assess the aids and success of silicone oil removal with a novel 23-gauge cannula for the patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil injection before. Materials and Methods: 72 eyes of 64 patients who operated by the same surgeon (FA) between May 2017 and May 2019 were involved in the study. The primary indications were proliferative diabetic retinopathy in 46 (63.9%) eyes and retinal detachment in 26 (36.1%) eyes. Phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation (23 eyes), membrane peeling (23 eyes), internal limiting membrane peeling (5 eyes), and argon laser endo-photocoagulation (37 eyes) performed in the same session. Furthermore, perfluorocarbon remnants aspirated in 9 eyes and 17 eyes needed suturing. Descriptive statistical analyses achieved by SPSS 10.5 statistical software. Results: The mean follow-up time was 11.7 + 2.5 months (between 3 and 23 months), and the mean age was 61.4 + 8.52 years (between 44 and 69 years). 1000 centistokes (cSt) silicone oil was removed from 61 (84.7%) eyes, and 5000 cSt silicone oil was removed from 11 (15.3%) eyes. The mean removal time was 2.04 + 0.1 min for 1000 cSt silicone oil and 5.11 + 0.3 min for 5000 cSt silicone oil. 4 re-detachment and 3 vitreous hemorrhage observed in follow-up period. Post-operative silicone oil remnants were not detected in any patient. Conclusion: The unique 23-gauge cannula provides silicone oil removal without any conjunctival cut-down and sclerotomy enlargement. Thus, it reduces the duration of surgery and post-operative recovery period.

Effects of the Pars Plana Vitrectomy on the Chronic Total Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment in the Young Adults

Objective: To observe the characteristics and evaluate the efficacy and safety of the chronic total rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) treatment by the 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in young adults and to analyze the related factors.Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for the young adults who underwent the 23-gauge PPV for the chronic total RRD at the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from 2011 to 2018. A total of 54 eyes of 48 patients were included in this study. The preoperative vision ranged from 2.00 to 1.00. The mean duration of RRD was 9 ± 0.6 months with a range from 4 to 18 months. The proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) grade D1 and grade D2 was diagnosed in 48 eyes and 6 eyes, respectively. About 37 eyes were filled with C3F8 and 17 eyes were filled with silicone oil tamponade. The follow-up ranged from 9 to 78 months with a mean of 23 ± 2.2 months.Results: The postoperative visual acuity increased in all the eyes at the final observation. The retinal attachment was achieved in 49 eyes (90.7%) in the primary PPV. Five eyes (9.3%) with the failed retinal attachment finally achieved the attachment after the second procedure. The postoperative complications mainly included temporary intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation, hyphema, and retinal redetachment.Conclusion: Chronic total RRD can be treated via the 23-gauge PPV with a great anatomical and visual prognosis in the young adult. The successful treatment of the chronic total RRD in young adults is mainly associated with the complete dissection of the severe vitreoretinopathy, especially for the epiretinal membrane at the retinal breaks and degenerations and the subretinal proliferation during surgery.

23 Gauge Vitrectomy: Current Usage, Indications, and Applications.

The development and evolution of pars plana vitrectomy are gorgeous. It is a big evolution like change that was seen in the transition to phacoemulsification surgery from extracapsular cataract surgery. However, improvements are not still over. While the changes and developments in vitrectomy experienced to increase the ease of application, application areas, and success of the surgeries, also offering different alternatives for surgeons. The main one is for different sized vitrectomy systems. Although it is appropriate to prefer smaller cuts at first glance, the difficulties in current use and application cause the necessity to be more conscious and to make preferences depending on the case and data.

Internal Limiting Membrane Peeling and Flap Inverting under Air in Large Idiopathic Macular Hole Surgery

Purpose. To evaluate the efficacy of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling combined with modified flap inverting under air in the treatment of large idiopathic macular hole (MH). Methods. Eyes with a large idiopathic MH (minimum diameter >550 μm) were included in this study. The surgical procedure included standard 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), ILM peeling, complete fluid-gas exchange, and ILM flap inversion under air. The patients underwent follow-up exam including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) measurement. Results. Sixteen eyes from 16 patients were included. Mean MH diameter was 681.43 ± 112.12 μm. After a mean follow-up time of 6.25 ± 2.65 months, in all cases, the MH was closed, and the ILM flap could be seen at the inner surface of the fovea. U-shaped and V-shaped MH closure was achieved in 11 and 5 cases, respectively. The BCVA improved significantly from 1.49 ± 0.35 logMAR to 0.89 ± 0.35 logMAR ( p < 0.05 ), and visual acuity of 20/100 or better was achieved in 8 eyes. Conclusion. ILM flap inverting under air was helpful in improving the functional and anatomic outcomes of vitrectomy for large idiopathic MH.

Hemorrhagic Retinal Macrocyst with Retinal Detachment

Purpose: To report a satisfactory clinical outcome of hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst with retinal detachment after pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil injection. Case summary: A 33-year-old man visited our clinic with a 1-week history of visual disturbance in his left eye. His ocular and medical history were unremarkable, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the left eye was 20/40. Fundoscopic examination of the left eye showed a hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst that was well-demarcated, semi-transparent, dome-shaped, and larger than 8 disc diameters at the superonasal location, with macular-off retinal detachment. B-scan ultrasonography also confirmed the presence of an intra-retinal cystic lesion with internal mobile echogenic signals representing blood. The patient underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy, barrier laser photocoagulation around the retinal tear and boundary of the cyst, and silicone oil injection, without any other additional procedures for the hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst. After the surgery, the patient stayed in the face down position for two weeks. Three months postoperatively, a completely collapsed hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst with successful retinal reattachment was observed. Six months later, the BCVA in the left eye had improved to 20/30. One year later, even after silicon oil removal, the collapsed hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst and reattached retina remained stable.Conclusions: A hemorrhagic retinal macrocyst with retinal detachment was successfully treated with pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade.

Technique of re-enclavation of post-traumatic disenclaved haptic of posterior iris claw lens in a vitrectomised eye

A 58-year-old woman presented to us with sudden onset diminution of vision for 10 days following trauma while using mobile phone. Patient had a history of posterior iris claw implantation 3 years ago. On examination, the patient was aphakic and intraocular lens (IOL) was seen enclaved on nasal side and disenclaved on temporal side on ultrasound biomicroscopy. Patient underwent surgery for re-enclavation of temporal haptic by lifting the IOL using 23-gauge pars plana trocar. Patient had a postoperative uncorrected visual acuity of 6/9 and best-corrected visual acuity of 6/6 with refraction. Re-enclavation of partially disenclaved posterior iris claw lens is a minimally invasive technique to restore visual acuity in such cases.

Long-term Analysis of Surgically Induced Astigmatism after Combined Vitrectomy and Cataract Surgery versus Cataract Surgery Alone

Purpose: To compare the long-term changes in surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) in patients who underwent 23-gauge sutureless vitrectomy and cataract surgery together with patients who underwent cataract surgery only.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed SIA changes for 1 year after surgery in patients who received only cataract surgery using phacoemulsification (group 1) and patients who underwent 23-gauge sutureless vitrectomy and cataract surgery together (group 2). Flat keratometry (K1), steep keratometry (K2), and astigmatism axis were measured with automatic keratometry before and after the surgery. Vector analysis was used to calculate SIA at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. We then examined whether the SIA values at each time point were different between the two groups.Results: A total of 86 eyes were included in this study (group 1, n = 45; group 2, n = 41). The mean SIA values calculated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery in group 1 were 0.83 ± 0.37, 0.69 ± 0.39, 0.60 ± 0.33, and 0.59 ± 0.33, respectively. In group 2, the values were 0.82 ± 0.47, 0.69 ± 0.38, 0.62 ± 0.28, and 0.61 ± 0.30, respectively. Over time, SIA decreased in both groups (all p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean SIA between the two groups at each follow-up time point after surgery (p = 0.296, p = 0.728, p = 0.361, and p = 0.356, respectively).Conclusions: When 23-gauge sutureless vitrectomy and cataract surgery were performed together, the astigmatism change caused by surgery did not show a significant difference compared with that of the group who received cataract surgery only. Thus, 23-gauge sutureless vitrectomy may not significantly affect corneal astigmatism.

Sympathetic ophthalmia after vitreoretinal surgery: a report of two cases

Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a panuveitis that usually occurs after trauma to one eye. We describe two cases of SO occurring after 23-gauge vitrectomy. Case 1 involved a 66-year-old woman who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Two months later, she presented with decreased visual acuity (VA) and bilateral uveitis. Case 2 involved a 43-year-old woman who underwent a second PPV for recurrent retinal detachment. Two months later, she presented with bilateral panuveitis. Both patients were diagnosed with SO and were treated with methylprednisolone and cyclosporine. The first patient was further treated with a dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex®) owing to the side effects of methylprednisolone. The VA and symptoms improved significantly after treatment in both patients. Bilateral granulomatous panuveitis following PPV should alert surgeons to consider SO. Appropriate interventions for SO can produce positive outcomes.

Vitrectomy-Assisted Biopsy: An in vitro Study on the Impact of Cut Rate and Probe Size

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> The aim of this study was to optimize the technique of performing vitrectomy-assisted biopsy of intraocular tumors by comparing the cytohistological findings in specimens obtained with different vitrectomy probes and cut rates. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Vitrectomy-assisted biopsies were taken from a fresh porcine liver. For each sampling, the vacuum level was 300 mm Hg. The following parameters were compared; cut rate (60, 600 and 6,000 cuts per minute [cpm]), probe type (standard and two-dimensional cutting [TDC]), and probe diameter (23-gauge and 25-gauge). The specimens were assessed by automated whole-slide imaging analysis and conventional light microscopy. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Seventy-two biopsies were analyzed for the number of hepatocytes, total area of tissue fragments, and total stained area of each microscope slide. For all probe types, these parameters were significantly and positively correlated with the cut rate. TDC probes led to significantly higher scores than those of standard probes, independent of the cut rate. There were no significant differences in results when using 23-gauge or 25-gauge standard probes. Light microscopic examination demonstrated well-preserved cells sufficient for cytohistological analyses in all investigated cases. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The higher the cut rate, the larger is the amount of aspirated cellular material. There were no significant differences between 23-gauge and 25-gauge biopsies. Cut rates up to 6,000 cpm did not adversely affect the cytohistological features of the samples.