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Surgeon: Use sutures to prevent silicone oil toxicity in aphakic eyes
NEW YORK — Retention sutures may help prevent silicone oil toxicity in patients with partial or complete aniridia, according to a surgeon speaking here.
Ronald C. Gentile, MD, explained that the risk of toxicity has “always been a contraindication” for using silicone oil after iridectomy in patients with aphakia. But that might change, he noted, with the use of a polypropylene suture technique to prevent corneal touch.
In this technique, polypropylene sutures are placed at 1-mm intervals across the anterior chamber postoperatively to simulate an iris diaphragm, Dr. Gentile said here at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. The sutures prevent silicone oil from entering the anterior chamber even while the patient is supine, he noted. Dr. Gentile confirmed this using ultrasound biomicroscopy.
Six eyes underwent the suture technique. The technique failed in two eyes that developed hypotony but was successful in four, Dr. Gentile said.