Macular translocation: histopathologic findings in swine eyes

PURPOSE. Macular translocation has been proposed as an alternative techniqu e in the treatment of some cases of choroidal neovascularization. The purpo se of the paper is to report the histopathologic findings in the retina of swine eyes undergone macular translocation. METHODS. Ten eyes of ten Yucatan pigs underwent posterior pars plana vitrec tomy and scleral imbrication to achieve macular translocation. Mattress sut ures were preplaced at the equator of the eyes. After a pars plana vitrecto my, balanced saline solution was injected under the temporal retina to prod uce a retinal detachment. Scleral imbrication was achieved by tightening th e mattress sutures. An air-fluid exchange was performed and the eye was fil led with sulfur hexafluoride 18%. The eyes were enucleated 2, 4, 8 and 12 w eeks after surgery and analyzed under light and electron microscopy. RESULTS. Macular translocation was achieved in all cases. The major finding s consist of a minimal decrease in the number of photoreceptors outer segme nts; also a change in the morphology was noted. This included some degree o f loss of vertical alignment and an increase in the interphotoreceptor spac e. There was a recovery in the morphology of the photoreceptors over time. CONCLUSIONS. Minimal changes in the photoreceptors and retinal pigment epit helium are observed when macular translocation is performed with recovery o f these changes over time. Scleral imbrication is an effective technique to achieve translocation of the fovea.