Spectacle-mounted prisms as an aid in face-down positioning after vitrectomy surgery.

Abstract

To report a modification in the design of bed spectacles to provide an aid for patients who undergo face-down positioning after vitrectomy with gas-fluid exchange and postoperative gas tamponade. New equipment design. Bed spectacles that use prisms to move the image 90 degrees around the horizontal meridian were modified by rotating the prisms in the frame 180 degrees and adding nosepads and cable temples. The spectacles were given to 12 patients for use during postoperative face-down positioning. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the helpfulness of the spectacles during face-down positioning. Patients ranked the spectacles as "helpful" to "very helpful" with a mean and SD of 8.3+/-1.6 on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was "a hindrance" and 10 was "very helpful." Patients wore the spectacles an average of 5.7+/-4.5 hours a day (range, 1.5 to 15 hours). Modified bed spectacles appear to be a portable aid to patients who undergo face-down positioning while sitting, standing, or prone.