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Dye can aid macular, epiretinal surgery by staining the ILM
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The dye brilliant blue G selectively stains the internal limiting membrane, aiding visualization during macular hole and epiretinal membrane surgery, according to a recent study.
Hiroshi Enaida, MD, and colleagues prospectively evaluated their results using brilliant blue G (BBG) in 20 patients diagnosed with either macular holes or epiretinal membranes (ERM). For macular hole patients, surgeons injected 0.25 mg/mL of BBG solution into the posterior vitreous detachment, followed by an immediate washout.
The researchers found that the dye visibly stained the internal limiting membrane (ILM) in all macular hole cases, enabling successful ILM peeling and macular hole surgery. However, they could not confirm ERM staining with the dye concentration used, according to the study.
Surgeons managed to remove the ILM and ERM in all cases with no reported adverse events postoperatively.
Visual acuity improved at least two Snellen lines in 17 patients (85%) during follow-up, the authors noted.
The study was published in the July/August issue of The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases.