AN EASY WAY TO PREVENT VELOCITY-RELATED COMPLICATIONS DURING DEXAMETHASONE IMPLANT INJECTION IN VITRECTOMIZED EYES

To assess the impact of inserting an ophthalmic viscoelastic device into the dexamethasone (DEX) implant needle on pellet velocity in simulated vitrectomized eyes.

Dexamethasone implants were injected into a calibrated ex vivo test chamber filled with balanced salt solution. All DEX implants were administered by the same physician, aiming for the same button depression time. In Group 1, three DEX implant injections were performed without an ophthalmic viscoelastic device, while in Group 2, the ophthalmic viscoelastic device was safely inserted into the DEX implant needle using a 27-gauge cannula just before the injection. The slow-motion video mode of the IPhone 14 was used to record the procedures and calculate time and distance measurements.

Group 1 exhibited a mean velocity of 450 mm/second for the DEX pellet in balanced salt solution, compared with 54.57 mm/second in Group 2. Furthermore, DEX pellets in Group 1 had horizontal displacements of 24, 29, and 31 mm, while those in Group 2 had displacements of 17, 16, and 15 mm.

Injecting an ophthalmic viscoelastic device into the DEX implant needle significantly decreases the velocity of the free pellet in balanced salt solution by 87.87%. This modification may help prevent potential velocity-related complications linked to DEX implantation in vitrectomized eyes.