Kenneth KW Li,¹ Barbara SM Tam,² See Wing Lam,² Dennis SC Lam^1
1Hong Kong Eye Hospital, and ²Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong

Aim: To study the longitudinal changes of sclerotomies using ultrasound biomicroscopy after primary pars plana vitrectomy with the 25-G transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy system.
Methods: Seven eyes of 6 patients undergoing 25-G transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy for various vitreoretinal conditions were prospectively recruited. Ultrasound biomicroscopy was performed preoperatively and monthly postoperatively until wound closure was evident. The main outcome measures included wound healing, rate of vitreous incarceration of sclerotomies based on ultrasound biomicroscopy, and sclerotomy-related complications.
Results: Twenty one sclerotomies were performed in 7 eyes. The mean period postoperatively to achieve wound closure and relief of vitreous incarceration was 1.8 and 2.4 months, respectively. Superonasal sclerotomies took longer to achieve wound closure than infusion sclerotomies (p = 0.042). Vitreous incarceration occurred in 27.8% of procedures, and sclerotomies with vitreous incarceration took significantly longer to heal (p = 0.015). No sclerotomy-related complications were encountered.
Conclusion: Good wound healing and a lower rate of vitreous incarceration were observed early after 25-G transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy. These results suggest that transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy potentially has less risk of sclerotomy-related complications than conventional 20-G vitrectomy.

Key words: Sclerotomy, Ultrasound biomicroscopy, Vitrectomy, Vitreous body

Asian J Ophthalmol. 2008;10:12-15.