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Published on: October 20, 2019
Conjunctival epithelium in pars plana vitrectomy specimens
Thomas A Albini1, Monica Evans, Rohit R Lakhanpal
1Doheny Retina Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.)
|January 16, 2007
Summary
Conjunctival epithelium can enter the vitreous during pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), especially with transconjunctival techniques. Careful conjunctival sterilization is recommended to prevent this, though endophthalmitis was not observed in this study.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Surgical Pathology
Background:
- Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is a common surgical procedure for various vitreoretinal diseases.
- Transconjunctival PPV techniques aim to minimize ocular surface disruption.
- Histopathological analysis of intraoperative specimens can reveal surgical complications.
Observation:
- A retrospective review of 650 vitrectomy specimens was conducted.
- Three specimens (0.46%) demonstrated the presence of conjunctival epithelium.
- Two of these cases involved transconjunctival sclerotomy creation.
Findings:
- Conjunctival epithelium was inadvertently introduced into the vitreous cavity in a small percentage of PPV cases.
- The presence of conjunctival epithelium did not correlate with postoperative endophthalmitis in this series.
- Complete transconjunctival PPV techniques showed a higher incidence of epithelial introduction.
Implications:
- Enhanced conjunctival preparation is crucial before creating transconjunctival sclerotomies during PPV.
- Vigilance for potential epithelial contamination is necessary even in routine PPV procedures.
- Further research may explore standardized protocols for conjunctival antisepsis in transconjunctival surgery.
