Sutureless vitrectomy
What is Vitreous?
The eye can
be broadly divided into 2
parts. The one in front of
the lens is called the
“Anterior Chamber” which is
filled with a clear fluid
called “aqueous”. The part
of the eye behind the lens
is called “Posterior
Chamber” which is filled
with a clear gel called the
“vitreous”. This vitreous is
surrounded from all other
sides by the “Retina” which
is the part responsible for
our vision. (How
Does the Eye Work)
What is Vitrectomy?
Any surgery
done for treating a disease
of the vitreous or retina
involves removal of the
vitreous gel and is called
“Vitrectomy”. The vitreous
can be reached only by
making cuts in the walls of
the eye.
Problems with
conventional vitrectomy:
The standard
approach, which has been
followed for the last 30
years, involves making 3
cuts around 1mm in size
each, in the coats of the
eyeball. But these
relatively large cuts must
be closed at the end of the
surgery by taking sutures.
Besides, the outermost
covering of the eyeball,
called the “conjunctiva”,
also needs to be cut and
sutured in this approach.
This excess
trauma along with the
sutures taken, cause lot of
redness, watering and
discomfort to the patient in
the post-operative period.
What is SUTURELESS
vitrectomy?
Recently, a
new method of performing
vitrectomy has been invented
and is becoming popular all
over the world. Similar to
the developments in Cataract
surgery, even Vitrectomy can
be done with a “sutureless”
approach! This requires the
use of special equipment
that enables the surgeon to
reach the vitreous using
cuts that are as small as
0.5mm. These cuts close
automatically and DO NOT
require sutures.
Advantages of sutureless
vitrectomy:
Since there
are no sutures taken, there
is no suture-related foreign
body sensation or watering.
Also, there is no need to
cut the conjunctiva and so
there is lesser redness of
the eyes and faster recovery
of the patient. All this
increases the comfort of the
patient in the
post-operative period and
he/she can resume his/her
routine work at the
earliest. Not only that, the
overall time required for
surgery is also less.
Where is it available?
In India
there are only a few places
where such surgeries are
being performed routinely.
Our foundation is one of the
leading centres of India and
probably has the largest
series of sutureless
vitrectomy cases since 2005.
Is it done for all
patients?
No. While the
sutureless technique can be
used for nearly all types of
diseases, there are still a
few conditions that will
need the conventional
vitrectomy. After examining
the patient, the retinal
surgeon himself can decide
whether it is possible to do
the surgery with this
special technique or not
