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Suturless Retinal Detachment Surgery

Summary

The retina is a thin sheet of light sensitive nerve tissue lining the inside of the eye which functions like the film of camera. Retinal detachment (RD) happens when the retina separates from the back wall of the eye and is usually caused by break in the retina. RD is one of the major human eye diseases which can lead to severe visual impairment or even blindness. Most of the retinal detachments require surgery to reposition the detached retina against the back wall of the eye. Scleral buckling surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations to treat RD. In scleral buckling surgery, silicone rubber explants are sewed externally on to the eye wall (Sclera) overlying the retinal tear inside. The explants indent the sclera against the retina and close retinal tear by relieving the force tracking on the tear. These explants are known as scleral buckles and they have a variety of sizes and shapes to fit for different size of retinal breaks. Commonly, a long silicone strip known as encircling band is also sutured and tightened to the equator of the globe to further relieve forces pulling the retina up and to enhance the indentation effect of the buckle. To complete the surgery, cryotherapy is applied externally to achieve a permanent adhesion between the retina and underlying tissue, to prevent the retina from re-detachment. Although scleral buckling surgery is effective, it is also notorious to be a skill demanding surgery with potential major complication. In the surgery, the buckle and encircling band are sutured onto the sclera with fine needle and the suture depth is aimed at half thickness of the very thin scleral (0.5 - 1 mm only), and it could be even thinner in myopia patient. If the placement of needle is too deep, the sclera will be accidentally perforated, the eye ball will become soft, making the rest of the surgical procedure difficult. Perforation of sclera may damage the underlying tissue, leading to bleeding or retinal hole formation, which makes the surgery fails. However, if the placement of needle is too shallow, the buckle or encircling band could be loosened or even exposed out form the eye after the surgery. Loosen or exposed buckle lead to failed surgery, infection and pain. Therefore, if scleral buckling surgery could be performed without any suturing, the risk of surgery could be reduced and the successful rate could be increased.

Supplementary Information

Inventor: Lee, Yau Wing Vincent | Lam, Shun-Chui Dennis | Liu, Ta Li David | Li, Chi Lai
Priority Number: US8349004B2
IPC Current: A61F000214
US Class: 6230041
Assignee Applicant: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Title: Scleral buckles for sutureless retinal detachment surgery
Usefulness: Scleral buckles for sutureless retinal detachment surgery
Summary: Device for treating retinal detachment in an eye.
Novelty: Device for treating retinal detachment in eye, has main scleral buckle and encircling band with fastening mechanism to secure main scleral buckle with encircling band with pressure on scleral wall without sutures

Industry

Biomedical

Sub Category

Medical Device

Application No.

08/MED/303

Others

Inventor(s): Professor Vincent LEE, Department of Ophthalmology and visual Sciences Patent Status: US & PCT Patent Pending Licensing Status: Available for licensing

Country/Region

Hong Kong