Use of triamcinolone during vitrectomy surgery to visualize membranes and vitreous

Triamcinolone is a corticosteroid that is used to treat many ophthalmic diseases. Recently, its use has been advocated to aid in visualization of transparent tissue in ophthalmic surgery. It can be used in anterior segment surgery to help manage vitreous loss during complicated cataract surgery. It has been used to visualize the posterior cortical vitreous during pars plana vitrectomy. In addition, it can be useful in the visualization and peeling of the internal limiting membrane. Triamcinolone has been advocated in surgical repair of proliferative vitreoretinopathy both for its visualizing properties and its anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, triamcinolone use in surgery is safe with low incidence of complications including elevated intraocular pressure, cataract and endophthalmitis.