Vitreous Surgery With Intraocular Assistance (VISIA)

Standard care surgery will be done with a few novel additions to facilitate the surgical procedure. Currently 3 ports are inserted by creating holes in the sclera (white part of the eye) to enter into the posterior part of the eye. When complex dissection is needed, a fourth port will be inserted. The assistant will insert light source through the 4th port. This eliminates the need for the surgeon to hold the light in one hand. Hence allows freeing of both hands for the surgeon to use a forceps in one hand to grasp and elevate membranes and a scissors in the other to cut connections between the retina and the membranes. When membranes are particularly thick, it can be difficult to dissect with a single forceps holding up the membrane. In this situation, a 5th port will be inserted allowing the assistant to insert a light source through one and a forceps though another. The surgeon will have a forceps in one hand and a scissors in another making dissection process more efficient.