Straight needle corneal splinting for anterior segment surgery

Corneal splinting is an old and well established surgical technique and modern straight needles allow for atraumatic and accurate placement, providing an alternative to suture-fixation scleral ring support. We have routinely used two straight, 150-micrometer diameter, 16-millimeter length suture needles passed through clear cornea, to act as anterior segment splint supports during anterior segment surgery in which the cornea would otherwise collapse. The needles enter through the clear corneal periphery, pass across the anterior chamber, and exit through clear cornea in a criss-cross configuration. This splint technique is quick and easy to perform and is an alternative or addition to suture-fixation scleral ring support.