Silicone Oil Utilized in Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Patients with Advanced Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Physico-Chemical and Optical Properties

Rami Al-Dwairi; Ahmad A Ahmad; Abdelwahab Aleshawi; Areen A Bani-Salameh; Ihsan A Aljarrah; Qais M Al-Bataineh; Seren Al Beiruti; Ali Omar Alshami; Edina Rusen; Gabriela Toader

doi:10.2147/OPTH.S447099

Silicone Oil Utilized in Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Patients with Advanced Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Physico-Chemical and Optical Properties

Clin Ophthalmol. 2023 Dec 6:17:3719-3728. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S447099. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Special Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan.
² Department of Physics, Thin Films and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Art, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan.
³ Leibniz Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Dortmund, 44139, Germany.
⁴ Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Bucharest, 011061, Romania.
⁵ Military Technical Academy "Ferdinand I", Bucharest, 050141, Romania.

Abstract

Objective: Silicone oils have the role in maintaining the attachment of the retina in conditions where the risk of retinal re-detachment is high. However, silicone oils have the tendency to emulsify with subsequent complications. In this work, analyses have been performed to understand changes that occurred to the optical, and physical characteristics of the oil after removal from the vitreous cavity of patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for fibrovascular membranes/tractional retinal detachment (FVM/TRD).

Methods: Four samples of silicone oil were allocated from patients who underwent PPV for FVM/TRD. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, micro-viscometry, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer analyses were utilized to determine the changes in its chemical bondings, viscosity, absorbance, transmittance, buoyance, and specific gravity.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 49.0 years. The mean duration of silicone oil implantation was 18.9 months. FTIR analysis showed significant breaking in the chemical bonding that was related to the lens status during the primary PPV, the presence of significant retinal hemorrhages, the duration of silicone oil implantation, and the degree of silicone oil filling. Similarly, viscosity and contact angle analyses revealed a reduction in the viscosity with similar factors to the FTIR analysis. Moreover, absorbance and transmittance were largely affected by the aggressiveness of FVM/TRD.

Conclusion: This study revealed that certain factors such as the age of the patient, duration of silicone oil implantation, lens status, and the presence of retinal hemorrhages, the degree of silicone oil filling and aggressiveness of FVM/TRD may contribute to the emulsification process.

Keywords: emulsification; silicone oil; tractional retinal detachment; viscosity.

Grants and funding

The authors would like to acknowledge Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Jordan, the Deanship of Scientific Research, for their particular support with research grant No. 430/2021.