Tamponade or filling effect: changes of forces in myopic eyes

Abstract

Myopia is the most common ocular abnormality. Its high and growing prevalence has contributed to a recent surge in surgical interest in the disorder, since retinal detachment in eyes with high myopia differs from that in emmetropic eyes or eyes with low myopia. The myopic eye, because of its specific anatomy, poses special challenges that need to be overcome to ensure the appropriate use of vitreous substitutes. However, intraocular tamponades have shown great potential for revolutionizing retinal detachment surgery and vitreomacular surgery in general in myopic eyes. We provide an updated review of the clinical use of vitreous substitutes in the myopic eye, paying particular attention to analyzing the ideal function of endotamponade agents and comparing the effects of these agents on the physical and biological properties of the eye.

Figure 1

Droplet of water at the end of a pipette. Molecule β, which is positioned inside the droplet, is equally attracted in all directions. Molecule α, which is located on the surface, is exposed to more attractive forces inside rather than outside the droplet, and the resultant attractive force is thus inwards. Surface tension acts like a film as it tries to achieve the smallest surface area for a given volume (modified from Kirchhof and Wong [74]).

Figure 2

Intermolecular polar bonding forces (c) at the air-water interface are responsible for the surface tension of water. This surface tension makes the water molecules exhibit a skin-like behavior at the surface of the water (b). As a result, when air is forced into water, a spherical bubble is formed (a), which has the least surface area to the highest volume ratio. Molecule α = air; molecule β = water.

Figure 3

In-plane velocity magnitude contours on the vertical plane containing the rotational axis for BSS and silicone oil (modified from Abouali et al. [129]).