Obtaining maximal optic nerve length during enucleation procedures

Objective: To determine optimal scissor blade design and surgical approach to facilitate obtaining a long optic nerve segment during enucleation proce dures. Methods: Two hundred mock enucleations were performed with the use of a hum an child skull model and a silicone sphere to simulate an eye. Temporal and nasal approaches with scissor blades with noncurved, mildly curved, or str ongly curved blades were tested. Results: Longer optic nerve segments were obtained with mildly curved sciss or blades from both temporal and nasal surgical approaches. Strongly curved scissor blades uniformly produced smaller specimens. Conclusions: Mildly curved scissors should be used for enucleation when a l ong optic nerve specimen is desired. Strongly curved scissors should be avo ided.