RANDOMIZED TRIAL COMPARING MICROSERRATED VERSUS CONVENTIONAL INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE FORCEPS FOR INTERNAL LIMITING...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Surgery
• Surgical Instrumentation

Background:

• Internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling is a critical step in various retinal surgeries.
• Conventional ILM forceps can lead to complications such as deep retinal grasps and multiple attempts at ILM removal.
• Improving surgical instrument design is essential for enhancing patient outcomes and surgeon experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the anatomic outcomes and surgeon response of microserrated (Sharkskin) ILM forceps versus conventional ILM forceps.
• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of microserrated forceps in ILM peeling procedures.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, 1:1 randomized study involving 90 eyes.
• Patients were assigned to undergo ILM peeling with either microserrated or conventional ILM forceps.
• Data collected included rates of retinal hemorrhages, deep retinal grasps, ILM regrasping, time to ILM removal, and surgeon feedback via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Microserrated forceps resulted in significantly fewer deep retinal grasps (0.33 vs. 1.51, P < 0.0001) and failed ILM grasps (5.18 vs. 6.62, P = 0.019) compared to conventional forceps.
• Surgeons reported higher comfortability with microserrated forceps for initiating, regrasping, and completing ILM flap removal (P < 0.001 for initiation, P = 0.01 for regrasping, P = 0.01 for completion).

Conclusions:

• Microserrated ILM forceps offer improved surgical performance by reducing retinal trauma and improving ILM removal efficiency.
• Surgeons subjectively preferred microserrated forceps due to enhanced comfort and control during ILM peeling.
• These findings suggest microserrated forceps are a valuable advancement in retinal surgical instrumentation.