Trypan blue staining in vitreoretinal surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of trypan blue for staining the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and epiretinal membranes (ERM) in vitreoretinal surgery.


METHODS
Prospective noncomparative case series.


METHODS
Fifty eyes of 50 patients with macular pucker (n = 22), macular hole (n = 18), or a combination (n = 2), proliferative vitreoretinopathy (n = 5), or diabetic retinopathy (n = 3).


METHODS
Trypan blue 0.2% was used to stain the ILM or ERM during vitreoretinal surgery.


METHODS
The intraoperative visibility of the membranes was scored as poor, moderate, good, or excellent.


RESULTS
The application of trypan blue onto the ILM or the ERM resulted in a useful bluish staining, facilitating the identification, delineation, and removal of the membranes in all surgeries. No residual staining or adverse effects related to the dye were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Trypan blue stains both ILM and ERM and might be an useful tool in vitreoretinal surgery.
Teba
Francisco Aguilera
FA
Instituto Oftalmico de Jaen, Jaen, Spain.
Mohr
Andreas
A
Eckardt
Claus
C
Wong
David
D
Kusaka
Shunji
S
Joondeph
Brian C
BC
Feron
Eric J
EJ
Stalmans
Peter
P
Van Overdam
Koen
K
Melles
Gerrit R J
GR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D014343:Trypan Blue; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000601:surgery*
D004396:Coloring Agents; D014343:Trypan Blue