Ihave used the Optovue RTVue FD-OCT (Fourierdomain optical coherence tomography; Optovue, Inc., Fremont, CA) imaging system in my practice for the past year. The device's ultrahigh-speed and highresolution pictures have proved indispensible. In a number of presurgical patients with cellophane maculopathy, diabetic traction detachment, and vitreomacular traction, the FD-OCT has provided excellent data and images that were extremely useful during surgery.
IMAGING
A patient presented with advanced traction pathology
from advanced cellophane maculopathy. To relieve traction
in patients with cellophane maculopathy, I often prefer
to use viscodelamination with a foot-controlled Healon
(Advanced Medical Optics, Santa Ana, CA) injector that I
designed, rather than dissection with pick, scissors, and
forceps. The trick to effective viscodelamination is to
slowly pressurize the membrane to uniformly and completely
separate it from the retina while gently breaking its
tie-down attachments (pegs). Retinal breaks and hemorrhage
are minimized by choosing appropriate entry sites
for the Healon injector. The FD-OCT images of this patient
demonstrate the complex nature and extent of the cellophane
membrane and traction (Figure 1).
DISCUSSION
I have found that membrane demarcation with triamcinolone
acetonide (Kenalog, Bristol-Myers Squibb)—
along with intraoperative reference to OCT pictures,
which I now routinely bring to the operating room—
helps me to identify the best places for pressurization
and to achieve as close to 100% membrane delamination
as possible.
Jay Fleischman, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, and he is in private practice at Retina & Laser Consultants, LLC, New York, NY. Dr. Fleischman states that he has no financial relationships to disclose relevant to the content of this article. He can be reached at retsurg@gmail.com.