gms | German Medical Science

23rd Annual Meeting of the German Retina Society

German Retina Society

24.09. - 25.09.2010, Freiburg

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SD-OCT complements histologic evaluation of potential Bruch's Membrane Prosthetics

Meeting Abstract

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  • Boris V. Stanzel - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • Z.P. Liu - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • C.R. Clemens - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • R. Brinken - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • V. Kearns - Departments of Ophthalmology and Clinical Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK
  • A. Wegener - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • C. Sheridan - Departments of Ophthalmology and Clinical Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK
  • R. Williams - Departments of Ophthalmology and Clinical Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK
  • F.G. Holz - University Eye Clinic Bonn
  • N. Eter - University Eye Clinic Bonn

German Retina Society. 23rd Annual Conference of the German Retina Society. Freiburg i. Br., 24.-25.09.2010. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2010. Doc10rg48

doi: 10.3205/10rg48, urn:nbn:de:0183-10rg481

This is the English version of the article.
The German version can be found at: http://www.egms.de/de/meetings/rg2010/10rg48.shtml

Published: September 21, 2010

© 2010 Stanzel 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

Text

Background: Cell-based replacement strategies of the RPE could be improved through cotransplantation of a prosthetic Bruch's membrane. Using a rabbit model we studied 2 biostable artificial substrates, which differed in surface topography, thickness, rigidity and porosity.

Methods: Acellular artificial Bruch's membrane prostheses were either an etched pore polyester membrane (PET/Corning, Inc.), or a surface-modified expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membrane (ePTFE/Millipore, Inc.). Standardized implants were inserted into the subretinal space in a consecutive series of 13 female, 2–2.5 kg Chinchilla-Bastard rabbits. They were followed up on postOP days 3, 7 and 14 with spectral domain (SD) OCT (Spectralis®/Heidelberg Engineering, Inc.), as well as infra-red (IR) and red-free fundus photography. The animals were perfusion fixed at 2 weeks postOP and samples embedded in Epon 812 and cut semithin.

Results: Both prosthetic materials could be implanted in the subretinal space with a custom-made instrument (Geuder). The neural retina overlying the implants was attached by 1 week postOP in SD-OCT, but showed material-dependent alterations (atrophy) of outer reflexion bands. The IR mode showed a transitional zone around the implant and RF imaging revealed only minimal vitreal condensations around the retinotomy site at 2 weeks postOP. The initial comparison of SD-OCT and histology showed encouraging results.

Conclusions: A rabbit model for subretinal implantation cellular carriers was established. Our data suggest that PET and ePTFE membranes can be implanted safely into the subretinal space and are tolerated well over at least 2 weeks.