Injectability of silicone oil-based tamponade agents

Rachel Williams (1) , Michael Day (1) , Michael Garvey (1) , George Morphis (2) , Cristina Irigoyen (2) , David Wong (3) , Theodor Stappler (4)

1 University of Liverpool
2 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust
3 HKU - The University of Hong Kong
4 Royal Liverpool University Hospital

Background/aims: High viscosity silicone oils are used as tamponade agents to increase the resistance to emulsification, however this makes the oils more difficult to inject. Increasing the extensional viscosity is one way to reduce emulsification. This study aimed to evaluate how silicone oils with increased extensional viscosity behave in terms of their ease of injection. Methods: The shear viscosity and the length of time taken to inject 9mls of Siluron 1000™, Siluron 2000™, Siluron 5000™, SiliconMate™, a 56/44 w/w blend of Siluron 1000™/ Siluron 5000™ (Blend A) and a 90/10 w/w blend of Siluron 1000™/ PDMS Mw423k Da (Blend B) were examined. Results: The shear viscosity of Siluron 1000™, Siluron 2000™ and Siluron 5000™ were within the expected ranges. The shear viscosity of Blend A was 2283 mPa.s, Blend B was 4710 mPa.s and SiliconMate™ was 995.3 mPa.s. Siluron 1000™ and SiliconMate™ had the shortest injection times as expected due to their lower shear viscosities. Comparison of Siluron 2000™ and Blend A demonstrated that Siluron 2000™ was easier to inject. Similarly, Blend B was easier to inject than Siluron 5000™. Conclusion: Silicone oil blends containing small percentages of a high molecular weight additive are easier to inject than single grade oils of the equivalent shear viscosity.

Mots clés: Posterior Chamber; Vitreous; Retina

Rachel Williams, Michael Day, Michael Garvey, George Morphis, Cristina Irigoyen, et al.. Injectability of silicone oil-based tamponade agents. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010, 95 (2), pp.273. ⟨10.1136/bjo.2010.192344⟩. ⟨hal-00592043⟩