EXPERIMENTAL LONG-TERM VITREOUS REPLACEMENT WITH PURIFIED AND NONPURIFIED PERFLUORODECALIN

Highly purified perfluorodecalin and nonpurified perfluorodecalin were injected into 34 rabbit eyes after mechanical vitrectomy, to evaluate the retinal tolerance in long-term vitreous replacement and the effec t of purification on the retina. Unpurified perfluorodecalin caused se vere inflammation and retinal damage and eight of ten eyes had develop ed retinal detachment after four weeks. In the eyes injected with high ly purified perfluorodecalin, we observed retinal changes of the rod a nd cone, outer nuclear, and ganglion-cell layers after two weeks, whic h progressed to a thinning of all layers of the retina by the fourth w eek and to localized areas of retinal atrophy by the eighth week in th e lower part of the eyes. Retinal damage in the upper part occurred af ter four weeks. At the perfluorocarbon-aqueous interface we observed a band of retinal necrosis that was noticed in all eyes four weeks post operatively regardless of the substance used.