DISSECTION OF THE POSTERIOR HYALOID

Vitreoretinal surgery increasingly implies elimination of the posterio r hyaloid. Many different surgical techniques have been described. The aspiration of the posterior hyaloid with a flexible silicone cannula and posterior separation with an illuminated spatula is the most frequ ently used. We herein describe a slight variation of this technique th at makes the dissection of the posterior hyaloid easier in cases in wh ich it has a strong attachment to the retina. We have used this techni que on 12 patients (7 with choroidal neovascularization and 5 with idi opathic macular hole [1 patient with stage 2 and 4 patients with stage 3]) with strong attachment of the posterior hyaloid to the retina, im mediately obtaining in all cases the separation of bath structures wit hout complications.