RESEARCH ARTICLE
Intraoperative Switch to a Temporal Surgical Approach in 23- and 25-Gauge Microcannula-Based Sutureless Transconjunctival Vitrectomy
Szilárd Kiss1, 2, Demetrios Vavvas*, 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 12
Last Page: 14
Publisher ID: TOOPHTJ-4-12
DOI: 10.2174/1874364101004010012
Article History:
Received Date: 14/1/2010Revision Received Date: 22/1/2010
Acceptance Date: 25/3/2010
Electronic publication date: 31/5/2010
Collection year: 2010

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Purpose:
To illustrate a surgical method in which the infusion port during a three-port pars plana vitrectomy is moved intraoperatively from the traditional infra-temporal location and placed supra-nasally, thus permitting a temporal surgical approach to better tackle superior and inferior vitreoretinal pathology.
Methods:
Description of surgical technique.
Results:
When the location of the vitreoretinal pathology and/or the patient's anatomy prevents adequate visualization or surgical access and/or the instrument flexibility precludes sufficient maneuvering of the eyeball, a temporal approach to the vitrectomy may be employed by utilizing the interchangeable microcannulas of 23- and 25-gauge vitrectomy systems. The infusion port is dis-inserted from the traditional infra-temporal microcannula and reaffixed in the supra-nasal microcannula. The surgeon, the operating microscope, and the foot pedals are then adjusted to a temporal orientation, and the instruments inserted through the temporally placed microcannulas.
Conclusions:
The flexibility of interchangeable microcannulas in 23- and 25-gauge PPV systems permits intraoperative switching between superior and temporal surgical sites to better manage posterior segment pathology.