Vitreoretinal surgery with slit-lamp illumination combined with a wide-angle-viewing contact lens.

Abstract

To evaluate the feasibility of illuminating the fundus by combining a wide-angle-viewing contact lens and slit lamp attached to a surgical microscope during retinal reattachment surgery and vitrectomy. An interventional study. We combined slit-lamp illumination and a wide-angle-viewing contact lens to visualize the fundus during retinal reattachment surgery and vitrectomy. We clearly observed the fundus using this combination approach during conventional retinal reattachment surgery, which we completed without using an indirect ophthalmoscope. With slit-lamp illumination, the wide-angle-viewing contact lens provided a wider area of illumination than a planoconcave contact lens during vitrectomy in addition to an area of illumination as wide as that obtained using a light pipe. Combining slit-lamp illumination and a wide-angle-viewing contact lens seems to provide a useful alternative method for viewing the fundus during vitreoretinal surgery.