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Published on: March 17, 2023
Internal limiting membrane contrast after staining with indocyanine green and brilliant blue G during macular surgery
Kazuaki Kadonosono1, Akira Arakawa, Maiko Inoue
1Department of Ophthalmology, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan. kado@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Purpose:
To evaluate the difference in color contrast by performing a color contrast ratio (CR) analysis and resulting visibility of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) when stained with indocyanine green and brilliant blue G (BBG) during macular surgery by performing a color CR analysis.
Methods:
The authors analyzed 40 consecutive cases in which vitrectomy with ILM removal was performed to treat a macular hole or an epiretinal membrane. The surgical procedure was performed in 21 patients (21 eyes) after staining with indocyanine green and in 19 patients (19 eyes) after staining with BBG. The color CRs were estimated based on digital analysis of the red, green, and blue data of the digital images captured, and the CRs obtained with the two dyes were compared.
Results:
Color contrast analysis was performed in all 40 eyes, in which the ILM was removed after staining with indocyanine green or BBG, and the CRs were estimated in every eye. The CR (mean ± SD) obtained with indocyanine green and BBG was 4.3 ± 0.3 and 2.4 ± 0.1, respectively. Indocyanine green provided a significantly higher CR than BBG (P = 0.015).
Conclusion:
Digital color contrast analysis can be used to evaluate the visibility of digital images, and it may be useful when choosing the dye to use for staining the ILM better.

