Intraoperative breakage of a 25-gauge vitreous cutter.
OBJECTIVE
To report breakage of a 25-gauge vitreous cutter during vitreous surgery.


METHODS
Interventional case report.


METHODS
A 60-year-old woman was referred for management of an epiretinal membrane at the macula. Visual acuity was 20/100 in the affected left eye. Vitreous surgery using a 25-gauge vitrectomy system was carried out with a combination of conventional cataract surgery.


RESULTS
The vitreous cutter was lodged within the sclerotomy cannula after peripheral vitrectomy and was pulled together with the cannula. The cannula was reinserted by trocar, but as the floating peeled epiretinal membrane was dissected with the vitreous cutter, the tip of the cutter was broken and was aspirated with the membrane. Stereoscopic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the edge that had broken at the cutter port was smooth.


CONCLUSIONS
Although 25-gauge instruments remain useful, care should be taken against rare surgical complications related to their fragility.
Inoue
Makoto
M
Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. inoshin@sc.keio.ac.jp
Noda
Kousuke
K
Ishida
Susumu
S
Nagai
Norihiro
N
Imamura
Yutaka
Y
Oguchi
Yoshihisa
Y
D002404:Catheterization; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000601:surgery; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000295:instrumentation*