Pars Plana Vitrectomy Without Intravenous Anesthesia: Technique, Safety, and Outcomes

Introduction: To describe the technique, safety profile, and outcomes of performing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) without intravenous (IV) anesthesia. Methods: This retrospective single-surgeon study comprised patients who had PPV without IV sedation between September 2018 and April 2022. Patients elected to undergo PPV without sedation or with oral sedation via sublingual triazolam administered 30 minutes preoperatively. Sub-Tenon bupivacaine and lidocaine were administered at the initiation of each case. A circulating nurse monitored patient vitals and electrocardiogram tracings without anesthesiologist support. Adverse events (AEs), visual acuity (VA), supplemental block administration, and reoperation rates were documented. Results: A total of 357 PPVs in 319 patients (mean age 68.75 ± 11.17 years [SD]; range, 36.82-98.57) were performed for surgical indications including vitreous floaters, intraocular lens or cataract surgery complications, retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and epiretinal membrane. Twenty-three cases were performed without sedation, and 334 were performed with oral sedation. For eyes with a follow-up longer than 1 month (n = 324), the preoperative VA of 0.68 ± 0.77 logMAR improved to 0.31 ± 0.46 logMAR postoperatively (P < .01). No intraoperative complications, systemic AEs, need to cease surgery prematurely, or conversion to IV sedation occurred. Five eyes (1.77%) required intraoperative supplemental sub-Tenon block administration, and 95% of patients who had a reoperation (n = 10) or fellow-eye surgery (n = 28) requested the same method of anesthesia without IV sedation. Conclusions: Vitreoretinal surgery with a sub-Tenon block and oral sedation can be safely performed without the support of an anesthesiologist. Additional trials are needed to further quantify patient comfort, surgeon experience, and complication rates.