1. EFFECTS OF A MODIFIED VITRECTOMY PROBE IN SMALL-GAUGE VITRECTOMY
- Author
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Giuseppe Criscenti, Alfonso Savastano, Jaw Chyng Lormen Lue, Federica Genovesi Ebert, Gualtiero Fantoni, Stanislao Rizzo, Francesco Faraldi, Giovanni De Santis, Jonathan Ciampi, Carmelo De Maria, M. Palla, Rodrigo A. Brant Fernandes, and Giovanni Vozzi
- Subjects
Microsurgery ,0209 industrial biotechnology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,genetic structures ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Flow (psychology) ,Vitrectomy ,02 engineering and technology ,Retina ,03 medical and health sciences ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,0302 clinical medicine ,Traction ,surgical cutter ,Humans ,Medicine ,flow rate, holed vitrectomy probe, modified vitrectomy probe, surgical cutter, tractional force, vitrectomy probe, vitreoretinal surgery ,Vitreous surgery ,vitrectomy probe ,flow rate ,holed vitrectomy probe ,modified vitrectomy probe ,tractional force ,vitreoretinal surgery ,business.industry ,Settore MED/30 - MALATTIE APPARATO VISIVO ,General Medicine ,Vitreoretinal surgery ,Traction (orthopedics) ,eye diseases ,Surgery ,Vitreous Body ,Ophthalmology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030221 ophthalmology & optometry ,Outflow ,Stress, Mechanical ,sense organs ,business ,Biomedical engineering ,Small gauge vitrectomy - Abstract
PURPOSE Thorough this experimental study, the physic features of a modified 23-gauge vitrectomy probe were evaluated in vitro. METHODS A modified vitrectomy probe to increase vitreous outflow rate with a small-diameter probe, that also minimized tractional forces on the retina, was created and tested. The "new" probe was created by drilling an opening into the inner duct of a traditional 23-gauge probe with electrochemical or electrodischarge micromachining. Both vitreous outflow and tractional forces on the retina were examined using experimental models of vitreous surgery. RESULTS The additional opening allowed the modified probe to have a cutting rate of 5,000 cuts per minute, while sustaining an outflow approximately 45% higher than in conventional 23-gauge probes. The modified probe performed two cutting actions per cycle, not one, as in standard probes. Because tractional force is influenced by cutting rate, retinal forces were 2.2 times lower than those observed with traditional cutters. CONCLUSION The modified probe could be useful in vitreoretinal surgery. It allows for faster vitreous removal while minimizing tractional forces on the retina. Moreover, any available probe can be modified by creating a hole in the inner duct.
- Published
- 2017