Dr Rajeev Muni. Credit: Unity Health Toronto

A Canadian surgeon has developed an incision-free technique to seal retinal tears, usually within 24 hours.

Dr Rajeev Muni, a vitreoretinal surgeon at Toronto’s St Michael’s Hospital, infused a gel-like viscoelastic substance into the suprachoroidal space, creating an indentation. Although the technique, which Dr Muni termed ‘suprachoroidal viscopexy’ (SCVEXY), includes bubble injection and enforced post-procedure immobilisation, it offers enhanced retinal attachment integrity by circumventing fluid drainage and the use of large gas bubbles, he said.

Despite this being a single-case report, it’s a feasible in-office technique to create a temporary choroidal buckle for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair, wrote Dr Muni in JAMA Ophthalmology. The study contributes to a growing body of evidence pointing towards pneumatic retinopexy as the first-line retinal reattachment technique, where closing the retinal tear and allowing the retina to reattach naturally leads to the best outcomes both from an anatomic and visual perspective, he said. “This was previously unknown, and in my opinion will be a game-changer in our field.”