Preface

Vitreoretinal surgery is developing rapidly. The new 23-gauge and 25-gauge techniques are transforming vitreoretinal surgery into a much safer and less traumatic surgical procedure. We are convinced that the 23-gauge and 25-gauge vitrectomy will become the gold standard for vitrectomy worldwide. It will be as safe and reliable as phacoemulsification is today.

This book is intended to be a hands-on instructive compendium for vitreoretinal surgery, which is more technical and sophisticated than phacosurgery. First we describe the instruments and materials needed for vitreoretinal surgery, after which we describe the most important surgeries. Just like a recipe in a cookbook – first the ingredients and then every surgical step in detail. In the final chapter of the book you will find a lot of useful information regarding the surgical material.

The surgical techniques described in the book, however, are not the only possible treatment for the described pathology. They are only recommendations, not guidelines or rules.

We wish every reader, may he or she be a beginner or an advanced surgeon, to enjoy reading this book and watching the surgical videos. Included are two DVDs with a huge amount of commented surgical videos. They begin with easy techniques and end with advanced pathologies. Our endeavour is to inspire more people to master this amazing surgical technique.

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Acknowledgements

The skills of vitreoretinal surgery cannot be gained by reading a book. However, there are many little tricks of the trade that one will not find in standard text books and which will be passed on from the supervisor to the learning surgeon during the training. It was our aim to collect as many of these pearls as possible to be passed on to a broader community of learning surgeons through this book. I was fortunate enough to be trained by and to work with some of the outstanding vitreoretinal surgeons of our time who taught and shared their knowledge with me. I am extremely grateful for giving me the opportunity to learn vitreoretinal surgery, for their patience, their invaluable advice and their generosity in sharing their skills: Michael Foerster (Berlin), Norbert Bornfeld (Essen), Ulrich Kellner (Siegburg), Horst Helbig (Regensburg), David Wong (Hong Kong), Bertil Damato (Liverpool) and Nikos Bechrakis (Innsbruck).

Together with my colleagues at the St. Paul’s Eye Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, I am also extremely lucky to be in a position that involves teaching fellows from all over the planet in vitreoretinal surgery. These highly skilled individuals are and were a sheer delight to work with. I would like to thank them for the great care they have provided for the patients in our department. They are constantly challenging and scrutinizing our techniques, which has helped us to further develop the techniques of vitreoretinal surgery: Ron Das (Malaysia), Ben Fleming (Australia), Christina Irigoyen (Spain), Stathis Liazos (Greece), Lazaros Konstandtinidis (Greece), Joaquin Marticorena (Chile), Haslina Mohd Ali (Malaysia), George Morphis (Greece), Mario Romano (Italy), Teresa Sandinha (Portugal) and Xavier Valldeperas (Spain).

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