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Published online: 20 June 2007 | doi:10.1038/nchina.2007.115

Artificial vitreous: Plastic eye surgery

Wei Zeng

Introduction

© (2007) Eye

Vitreous is the thick, transparent substance that fills the centre of the eye. The treatment for a number of blinding diseases requires the infected vitreous to be removed and replaced. The current replacement strategy is to directly inject artificial vitreous materials into the eye, which is similar to the direct breast injections in early plastic surgery. However, vitreous substitutes available at present, such as silicone oil and polymeric gel, can lead to side effects and even severe complications. Now Qianying Gao at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and co-workers¹ have developed a biocompatible device that conveniently replaces the natural vitreous, supports the retina and controls the pressure within the eyeball.

The device is made from a tailor-made rubber material and comprises a thin vitreous-like capsule with a tube-valve system (pictured). The researchers insert the folded capsule into the vitreous cavity of a rabbit through a 1.5-millimetre incision on the eyeball. A physiologically balanced solution is then injected into the capsule, which becomes inflated and effectively supports the retina. The eye pressure is controlled through the valve using a syringe.

After the operation, the eye was assessed over an eight-week treatment period using a number of techniques, but no serious complications were found. The researchers plan to test the device on other mammalian eyes.

The authors of this work are from:
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; Laboratory of Experimental Optometry, School of Optometry, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China; Department of Ophthalmology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.

References

1. Gao, Q. et al. A new strategy to replace the natural vitreous by a novel capsular artificial vitreous body with pressure-control valve. Eye doi: 10.1038/sj.eye.6702875 (2007).  | Article |