Vitrectomy in penetrating eye injury. Results of a controlled trial of vitrectomy in an experimental posterior penetrating eye injury in the rhesus monkey.

A controlled trial of pars plana vitrectomy for posterior penetrating eye injury was done in rhesus monkeys. After standard injury, each eye was allocated randomly into a treatment or control group. Treatment groups (ten eyes each) had vitrectomy at 1, 14, or 70 days after injury. The control group had 15 eyes. The same techniques were employed as in human eyes. Surgical objectives were lensectomy, then complete posterior vitrectomy and excision of the anterior vitreous to within 1 or 2 mm of the surface of the peripheral retina and pars plana. Results from this controlled trial provide strong support for the effectiveness of vitrectomy techniques in managing selected posterior penetrating injuries in human eyes and in preventing the complication of traction retinal detachment.