4. Vitrectomy as an Office Procedure: The Vitreoretinal Office of the Future?

Michael T. Trese (Royal Oak)

With the advent of smaller vitreous instrumentation and sutureless vitrectomy wounds, it is becoming clear that some vitreous surgery procedures might be able to be done in an operating room in the physician’s office. This operating room would be reserved for more elementary vitreous surgery procedures such as vitreous hemorrhage and perhaps epiretinal membranes that are mild in amount and may be assisted by agents such as those that induce posterior vitreous separation. This may also be something that would allow a modifiedpneumatic technique for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
The issues of sterile environment, observation of the posterior pole, and operating times will be addressed in this lecture. Other socioeconomic issues are certainly pertinent to this discussion and these will be raised as well.

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