A New Method to Improve Dye Application to the Retinal Surface during Vitrectomy

摘要

The use of dyes makes it easier to identify epiretinal membranes and the inner limiting membrane during macular surgery, and the use of dye-assisted peeling in vitreoretinal surgery is a widely accepted and safe technique. Good contact between the dye and the retinal surface is required to achieve intense staining of the membranes. However, commercially available dyes are usually diluted with phosphate-buffered saline, and injecting them into the vitreous cavity results in dye diffusion and further dilution of the dye. Therefore, membrane staining may be weak and insufficient because of the limited contact between the dye and the retina. To overcome this, a fluid-air exchange is normally performed before the application of the dye. The drawback of this procedure is that it is relatively time consuming. Alternatively, heavier dyes can be prepared by mixing them with 5% or 10% glucose: the higher density of this mixture relative to balanced salt solution causes the dye to sink to the retinal surface of the fluid-filled eye. The drawback of this method is that the dyes must be prepared; in addition, the higher osmolarity of this mixture could harm the retina. The present report describes an easy method to obtain dyes with a higher density than the vitreoretinal infusate.