23-Gauge transconjunctival sutureless pars plana vitrectomy: results of a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate results of 23-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy in various indications of vitreoretinal diseases.


METHODS
Prospective, non-comparative study.


METHODS
Fifty-seven consecutive eyes of 57 patients underwent vitreoretinal surgery by one surgeon using the 23-gauge, two-step instrumentation developed by Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center Inc., for epiretinal membranes (n=24), macular holes (n=10), diabetic retinopathy (n=4), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n=3), silicone oil removal (n=10), and other procedures (n=4). Mean operative time and intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. At 1 month, postoperative visual acuity, anatomical results, and induced astigmatism measured by Orbscan (BAUSCH and LOMB laboratories Inc., Rochester, NY, USA) were analysed.


RESULTS
Mean operative time was 32.6+/-21.5 min. At 1 month, mean visual acuity improved from 1.09+/-0.82 to 0.80+/-0.79 logMar. Transient postoperative hypotony was the most common complication (21.1%), resolving without treatment. There was no choroidal effusion; and no postoperative endophthalmitis was observed. There were no significant changes in mean keratometry (P=0.957), mean axis (P=0.818), and power of astigmatism (P=0.860) at 1 month.


CONCLUSIONS
A 23-gauge vitrectomy seems to be safe and effective for a wide range of indications for vitreoretinal surgery. Further studies are needed to compare it with 25-gauge and 20-gauge vitrectomy in larger series.
Schweitzer
C
C
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Pellegrin, Bordeaux Cedex, France. cedric.schweitzer@yahoo.fr
Delyfer
M-N
MN
Colin
J
J
Korobelnik
J-F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000601:surgery*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult