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Laboratory science
Original article
Injectability of silicone oil-based tamponade agents
  1. R L Williams1,
  2. M J Day2,
  3. M J Garvey2,
  4. G Morphis3,
  5. C Irigoyen3,
  6. D Wong3,4,
  7. T Stappler1,3
  1. 1Department of Eye and Vision Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
  2. 2Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
  3. 3St Paul's Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital Trust, Liverpool, UK
  4. 4Eye Institute, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rachel L Williams, Department of Eye and Vision Science, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, Ist floor Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK; rlw{at}liverpool.ac.uk

Abstract

Background/aims High viscosity silicone oils are used as tamponade agents to increase the resistance to emulsification; however, this makes the oils more difficult to inject. Increasing the extensional viscosity is one way to reduce emulsification. This study aimed to evaluate how silicone oils with increased extensional viscosity behave in terms of their ease of injection.

Methods The shear viscosity and the length of time taken to inject 9 ml of Siluron 1000, Siluron 2000, Siluron 5000, SiliconMate, a 56/44 w/w blend of Siluron 1000/Siluron 5000 (Blend A) and a 90/10 w/w blend of Siluron 1000/PDMS 423kDa molecular weight (Blend B) were examined.

Results The shear viscosity of Siluron 1000, Siluron 2000 and Siluron 5000 were within the expected ranges. The shear viscosity of Blend A was 2283 mPa s, Blend B was 4710 mPa s and SiliconMate was 995.3 mPa s. Siluron 1000 and SiliconMate had the shortest injection times as expected due to their lower shear viscosities. Comparison of Siluron 2000 and Blend A demonstrated that Siluron 2000 was easier to inject. Similarly, Blend B was easier to inject than Siluron 5000.

Conclusion Silicone oil blends containing small percentages of a high molecular weight additive are easier to inject than single grade oils of the equivalent shear viscosity.

  • Tamponade agents
  • silicone oil
  • viscosity
  • retinal detachment
  • posterior chamber
  • vitreous
  • retina

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.2010.192344

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    Footnotes

    • Competing interests RLW, MJD and MJG are authors on a patent related to Siluron 2000 and the University of Liverpool has a licence agreement with Fluoron GmbH in relation to Siluron 2000.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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