gms | German Medical Science

25th Annual Meeting of the German Retina Society

German Retina Society

01.06. - 02.06.2012, Münster

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Long-term in vivo biocompatibility of UV-cross-linked hyaluronic acid as vitreous replacement – 12 months results

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  • Martin S. Spitzer - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen
  • C. Schramm - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen
  • K. Januschowski - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen
  • M. Tomasz - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen
  • K.U. Bartz-Schmidt - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen
  • P. Szurman - Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen

German Retina Society. 25th Annual Conference of the German Retina Society. Münster, 01.-02.06.2012. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2012. Doc12rg62

doi: 10.3205/12rg62, urn:nbn:de:0183-12rg624

This is the English version of the article.
The German version can be found at: http://www.egms.de/de/meetings/rg2012/12rg62.shtml

Published: May 30, 2012

© 2012 Spitzer et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Purpose: To test the long-term biocompatibility and the long-term stability of UV-cross-linked hyaluronic acid biopolymers as vitreous replacement in rabbit eyes.

Methods: Hyaluronic acid was UV cross-linked using a modified protocol. The vitreous was removed by pars plana vitrectomy in 8 rabbit eyes and replaced by injection of the cross-linked biogels. ERG, slit lamp examination, funduscopy, OCT and measurement of intraocular pressure were performed at regular intervals postoperatively. The eyes were enucleated 6 to 12 months after surgery and histology was assessed for signs of cytotoxicity.

Results: There were no signs of intraocular inflammation and intraocular pressure was normal during the entire postoperative period. Electrophysiology, histology, OCT and immunohistochemistry demonstrated an excellent tissue biocompatibility. The biogels remained in place for up to 6 months without losing optical clarity or elasticity. At 9 months the hydrogels started to dissolve. After 12 months the biogels had completely disappeared from the vitreous cavity.

Conclusions: The results demonstrate the potential and the long-term biocompatibility of cross-linked hyaluronic acid biopolymers as a long-term vitreous replacement.