compared to 20 G. There may be a technical reason for the increased risk in the earlier papers. Much has been made of the risk of leakage of these wounds allowing ßuid from the ocular surface to enter the eye during a phase of hypotony in the postoperative period.

2.16.2 Postoperative Retinal Break Formation

Iatrogenic break formation has been reported despite the use of smaller gauge instrumentation (Okuda et al. 2007) and appears disappointingly to be similar to 20 G. However, entry site breaks may be less frequent because instruments are not pushed through the vitreous base on insertion.

2.17Advantages and Disadvantages of 23 and 25 G Systems

Advantages

¥Minimal tissue injury

¥No or minimal suturing

¥Increased patient comfort

¥Shortened duration of closure of surgery

¥Ease of inserting of instruments (no searching for the sclerotomy needed)

¥Good peroperative pressure control especially if trochars with valves are used

¥Rapid rehabilitation of the patient in the postoperative period

¥Shorter duration of postoperative drops

Disadvantages

¥With the conjunctiva intact, in patients with shortened fornices, it is more difÞcult to perform indentation of the eye to view the peripheral retina.

¥Risk of hypotony.

¥Risk of endophthalmitis.

¥Instrumentation, for example, foreign body forceps which cannot be inserted through the trochars.

¥The Þne gauge of the instruments alters the ability of the surgeon to move the eye around during surgery.

¥Increased duration of vitreous extraction with early systems.

Initially, the transconjunctival systems can be used for

less complex cases, for example, vitreous biopsy, vitreous haemorrhage, macular disease and simple rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. The role of these systems is however expanding as experience in the method develops, and I routinely use 23 G for all cases now and create an extra 20 G sclerotomy in the rare instance that it is required.

Surgical Pearl o f Wisdom

When performing a 25-guage vitrectomy where gas is not being left inside the eye, I routinely clamp the infusion line at the conclusion of the operation, and with the vitrector in one of the cannulated ports remove a small amount of additional ßuid from inside the eye to lower the pressure to slightly below normal levels before removing all of the cannulae. The infusion pressure with 25-guage vitrectomy is normally quite high, and if the pressure is not lowered in this way, there is often extrusion of vitreous through the 25-guage sclerotomies as the cannulae are removed leading to vitreous incarceration with the potential for associated traction and entry site breaks. When I Þrst started doing 25-guage vitrectomy, I did have several cases showing entry site breaks, noted postoperatively, and this fortunately appears to have resolved now that I go through this additional procedure.

Ian L. McAllister Lions Eye Institute, Perth, Australia

2.18Combined Cataract Extraction and PPV

Additional Surgical Steps

1.Perform a routine small incision (clear corneal) phacoemulsiÞcation procedure with a foldable lens implantation at the start of the operation before any of the PPV has been performed.

2.Changes in technique:

(a)Keep the corneal section long and make sure that the internal oriÞce is slightly more central in the cornea; this keeps the iris away from the wound and prevents the effects of pressure drop on egress of ßuid lifting the iris into the wound. A wound which is too peripheral is close to the iris. Fluid ßow from the wound accelerates near the wound (there is a shallower proÞle peripherally) causing a pressure drop according to BernoulliÕs equation (see Appendix) dropping the pressure and causing the iris to lift into the wound.

(b)The capsulorhexis should not be too large as gas bubbles can tilt the lens and cause dislocation of the inferior edge of the optic risking trapping the pupil margin.

(c)Some surgeons set up the vitrectomy before the phaco to allow them to reduce the vitreous volume before the phaco. This is not necessary in routine cases.

(d)Hydrate the wound but be aware that if excessive, this may obscure the view of the peripheral retina during the PPV (inferior retina if the wound is superiorly).

Fig. 2.72 Be careful to avoid iris prolapse during the combined PPV and phako procedure as this will damage the iris and be visible postoperatively as in this patient. Keeping the phako wound long and the internal opening more towards the centre of the cornea (when making the incision angle slightly anteriorly) reduces the chance of iris prolapse. Insert a single 10/0 vicryl suture if the wound is in any way unstable. With injectable lens implants, a suture is usually unnecessary

Fig. 2.73 Performing a combined PPV and Phako and IOL is an effective method for speeding visual recovery but is associated with an increase in posterior synaechiae formation postoperatively

Fig. 2.74 Cystoid macular oedema can appear in vitrectomised eyes which subsequently have phaco emulsiÞcation cataract extraction. It is possible that the prostaglandins reach the macula more easily because the physical barrier of the vitreous has been removed

Fig. 2.75 Phakic IOLs in high myopes should be removed in combined PPV and cataract extraction

3. Check the wound; in general, no suture is necessary for injectable IOLs as the wound is small and secure. If larger wounds are used, for example, for foldable rather than injectable IOLs, you may need to secure the wound with a single 10/0 absorbable suture.

In many cases, cataract in the affected eye reduces the view of the retina. It is prudent to remove the cataract at the time of surgery to:

1.Improve the view.

2.Avoid worsening of the cataract during surgery.

3.Avoid worsening of the cataract after surgery thereby delaying visual recovery.

PhacoemulsiÞcation of the lens and foldable or injectable intraocular lens implantation (IOL) can be performed as a routine procedure at the time of surgery before commencement of the PPV (Suzuki et al. 2001). The wound should be carefully tunnelled with an anterior tilt and internal opening which is slightly further into the centre of the cornea. This is to ensure that the wound is stable during the PPV. Injectable lenses are desirable because of the reduction in the wound size and increased stability of the anterior chamber peroperatively during the PPV. The wounds from injectable implantation can be left unsutured. Foldable lenses may require a 10/0 absorbable suture to avoid opening of the wound during the PPV and resulting in iris prolapse.