Sir,

May we thank Melo and Spaeth1 for drawing further attention to the issue of misplaced antimetabolite sponges during glaucoma surgery. Although pledget loss occurs very infrequently, their technique is another option to reduce an avoidable risk. We have no experience of the sponges discussed but find the concept of a high visibility ‘tail’ on each sponge very interesting. However, we do have some safety concerns following a recent (August 2010) recall of two product lines of Codman Surgical Patties after reports that the radio-opaque portion of the sponges became detached.2 We therefore still utilise the ‘necklace’ suture for both cost and safety reasons, but welcome Melo and Spaeth's suggestion for a more efficient and pre-packaged alternative.