Comparative study of corneal wetting agents during 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery under a noncontact wide-angle viewing system

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of corneal wetting agents during 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery (MIVS) under a binocular indirect ophthalmic microscope system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective, randomized, comparative study included 45 eyes undergoing 25-gauge MIVS. The randomly assigned corneal wetting agents were balanced salt solution, ProVisc, and DisCoVisc. The main outcome measures were the frequency of applications, the duration of each application, and the corneal surface status including corneal fluorescein staining score postoperatively. RESULTS: The mean frequency of applications was higher for balanced salt solution (13.6 ± 4.3) than ProVisc (2.7 ± 1.0) or DisCoVisc (1.7 ± 0.5) (P < .001). The duration of each application was longer for DisCoVisc (29.8 ± 6.0 minutes) than balanced salt solution (3.7 ± 1.1 minutes) or ProVisc (17.6 ± 3.6 minutes) (P < .001). The fluorescein staining score was higher for balanced salt solution until 7 days postoperatively (P < .001). CONCLUSION: ProVisc and DisCoVisc could be more effective corneal wetting agents than balanced salt solution by minimizing the frequency of intraoperative application and postoperative corneal injury.