Intraoperative sub-tenon injection increases optic nerve length transection during enucleation.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Anatomy
• Histopathology

Background:

• Enucleation is the surgical removal of the eyeball.
• The length of the resected optic nerve is crucial for histopathological evaluation.
• Standard enucleation techniques may not maximize optic nerve retrieval.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of sub-Tenon injection on the length of the optic nerve resected during enucleation.
• To determine if this technique enhances specimen adequacy for analysis.

Main Methods:

• A case-control laboratory study was conducted on 11 human cadavers (22 orbits).
• One orbit per cadaver underwent conventional enucleation; the contralateral orbit received sub-Tenon injection (2.5 ml saline) prior to enucleation.
• Resected optic nerve lengths were measured and compared between groups.

Main Results:

• The mean optic nerve length was significantly greater in the sub-Tenon injection group (15.2 mm) compared to the control group (11.3 mm).
• The difference in resection lengths was statistically significant (p = 0.015).

Conclusions:

• Sub-Tenon injection during enucleation facilitates significantly longer optic nerve resection.
• This method improves specimen length for pathological assessment in fresh-frozen human cadavers.