Wound healing strength: a comparative study of stainless steel blade excisions and contact Nd:YAG laser excisions.

A contact Nd:YAG laser with a sapphire tip was used to perform excisions in the eyelids of rabbits in order to compare the healing process and the wound strength to similar excisions made using a stainless steel blade. There was no bleeding from the excision made with the Nd:YAG laser; both groups showed similar wound strength and scars at the end of the experimental study.

Internal pars plana sclerotomy with the contact Nd:YAG laser: an experimental study.

Transvitreal pars plana sclerotomy using the contact Nd:YAG laser with a sapphire probe was performed on a group of rabbit eyes and compared with a similar procedure performed with a Ziegler knife. Although the intraocular pressure (IOP) was lowered in both groups of animals, the reduction was greater and more lasting in the group on which the Nd:YAG laser with sapphire probe was used. This technique may have application in cases with extensive peripheral anterior synechiae or where a vitrectomy as a combination procedure to clear ocular media is performed.

Gore-Tex soft tissue bands as scleral explants in rabbits: a preliminary histologic study.

Gore-Tex (polytetrafluoroethylene) grafts have been used in a variety of surgical procedures, particularly vascular, plastic, and reconstructive surgery. As suggested by previous animal studies, Gore-Tex soft tissue patches (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) may have application in ocular surgery for scleral buckling and support procedures. We buckled the scleras of 14 rabbit eyes using strips of polytetrafluoroethylene soft tissue patches and monitored ocular tissue reaction and histologic changes in response to this material.

External drainage of subretinal fluid with a contact Nd:YAG laser.

We used a Nd:YAg laser fit with a fiberoptic cord and sapphire tip to drain subretinal fluid externally in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. The direct contact between the laser and the choroid allowed for controlled cutting and coagulation of the intervening choroidal vasculature. The drainage was successfully achieved with no complication.

External limbal sclerostomy with contact Nd:YAG laser versus surgical knife.

An ab externo limbal sclerostomy was made into the anterior chamber using either a contact neodymium: yittrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser probe or a surgical superblade. 5-fluorouracil was injected subconjunctivally as an antiproliferative agent to prevent or decrease cell proliferation and scar formation. The contact Nd:YAG laser use was accompanied by minimal complications. The intraocular pressure was lowered for a longer period in the contact Nd:YAG group compared with the other (knife) group. External sclerostomy with an Nd:YAG laser may offer an alternative in the surgical management of recurrent or intractable glaucoma.

Toxicity of high-dose intravitreal dexamethasone.

The intravitreal toxicity of a high concentration of dexamethasone was studied in New Zealand white rabbits. No toxicity was observed after intravitreal injections of up to 4.8 mg/0.2 ml.

Toxicity and clearance of a combination of liposome-encapsulated ganciclovir and trifluridine.

New Zealand albino rabbits were given intravitreal injections of liposome-encapsulated ganciclovir and trifluridine. Preoperatively and postoperatively, the eyes were evaluated by indirect ophthalmoscopy at different time intervals up to 14 days after injection. At intervals up to 14 days postinjection, the animals were sacrificed, the eyes enucleated, vitreous antiviral levels determined in one group of eyes, and histopathological examination conducted in the other group. The results of this study demonstrated prolonged intravitreal drug levels above the mean inhibitory dose for many strains of virus belonging to the herpes simplex virus family. No evidence of gross retinal toxicity was found by clinical or light microscopic examination of the treated eyes.