Retina changes in the early stages after high-frequency monopolar electrocoagulation through the suprachoroidal access

Abstract

Retinal detachment (RD) is a condition that requires urgent ophthalmic surgery. Existing methods of RD vitreoretinal correction cause numerous complications and bring inconvenience to patients due to the need for vitrectomy and postoperative tamponade. Therefore, methods of RD surgical treatment are promising, which allow forming a strong chorioretinal adhesion in a short period of time after surgery, but damage the retina as little as possible. With this aim, in an experiment on rabbits, we studied the consequences of damage and features of retinal repair after high-frequency monopolar electrocoagulation (at a current of 0.1 A, 10–16 V and 66 kHz) by suprachoroidal access with an instrument of original design with a terminal sphere 25 G. For the experiment, 24 adult rabbits (48 eyes) were used, which were divided into three experimental groups (6 animals each, 12 eyes each) according to the exposure voltage (I – 10÷12 V, II – 12÷14 V, III – 14 ÷16 V) and one control (IV) group, which included 6 intact rabbits (12 eyes). Micropreparations obtained by us after euthanasia of animals early after surgery (after 1 hour and 3 days) showed us morphological changes in the eye tissues in places of direct contact with the electrode, remote and transitional areas. Edema processes prevailed among these changes. However, during this period, we could not investigate the processes of atrophy, which are also important for the recovery of acuity and visual fields after the recovery of RD. It was decided to monitor the animals for an additional period (until the end of the first month of the experiment), for which it will be necessary to increase the group of laboratory animals during the continuation of the experiment.