Purpose: To evaluate the potential of brilliant blue G (BBG) and indocyanine green (ICG) for intraoperative staining of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) with respect to perceivable contrast.
Methods: In a retrospective clinical case series the authors analyzed 26 consecutive chromovitrectomy interventions in 26 patients with macular holes, epiretinal fibrosis, vitreoretinal traction syndromes, or persistent macular edema. Fourteen subjects underwent ICG and 12 subjects, BBG chromovitrectomy. The main outcome measure was the difference in chromaticity between the stained ILM and the unstained underlying retina, measured by means of a novel objective and quantitative video-based analysis method to describe color contrast strengths as they are perceived by the human eye.
Results: Objective chromaticity measurements of the intraoperative videos of all 26 interventions showed a significantly inferior contrast for BBG compared with that of ICG (BBG = 6.1, ICG = 14.9; P = 3.885 × 10⁻¹⁵).
Conclusions: As an adjunct to chromovitrectomy to stain the ILM, BBG yields a significantly less well discernible contrast to the human eye than that of ICG under the premises of this study.