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Closing the Wound: Can Sutures Be Avoided?

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Modern Keratoplasty

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

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Abstract

Suturing has always been a crucial step during eye surgery and in its post-operative recovery. Indeed, sutures are time-consuming, expensive and often associated with complications, such as irritation of the cornea and/or conjunctiva, astigmatism and increased healing time. Moreover, thin tissues and tissues located in sites difficult to access, such as endothelium, Descemet membrane or even capsular bag tissue, are almost impossible to suture with a standard procedure. Over the last 20 years, our research group designed and optimised an original approach to a suture-less surgery: a near-infrared diode laser (810 nm wavelength) and an exogenous chromophore are used to provide a selective and controlled photothermal effect, acting as a fast and reliable sealant of ocular tissues. The near-infrared light penetrates deep into the tissue: it is thus possible to seal tissue layers located in depth, avoiding their handling.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Casa di Cura Villa Donatello, Florence, Italy

    Luca Menabuoni

  2. Cornea and Ocular Surface Unit, ASL ROMA 2, Rome, Italy

    Alessandra Balestrazzi

  3. Ophthalmology Department, Bambino Gesù IRCCS Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Luca Buzzonetti

  4. Cornea and Refractive Surgery Unit, Department of Opthalmology, Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic Foundation-IRCCS, Rome, Italy

    Romina Fasciani & Luigi Mosca

  5. University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Claudio Macaluso

  6. Institute of Applied Physics, Italian National Research Council, Florence, Italy

    Roberto Pini, Giada Magni, Paolo Matteini, Fulvio Ratto, Michele Rossi & Francesca Rossi

Authors
  1. Luca Menabuoni
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  2. Alessandra Balestrazzi
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  3. Luca Buzzonetti
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  4. Romina Fasciani
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  5. Claudio Macaluso
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  6. Luigi Mosca
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  7. Roberto Pini
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  8. Giada Magni
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  9. Paolo Matteini
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  10. Fulvio Ratto
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  11. Michele Rossi
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  12. Francesca Rossi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesca Rossi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Vissum Miranza, Miguel Hernández University, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió

  2. Vissum-Instituto Oftalmologico de Alica, Miguel Hernandez University, Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió del Barrio

Electronic Supplementary Material

Suture-less lamellar keratoplasty procedure: (1) femtolaser preparation of patient cornea; (2) donor lamella apposition; (3) ICG staining of donor/recipient interface; (4) laser welding (MP4 29236 kb)

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Menabuoni, L. et al. (2023). Closing the Wound: Can Sutures Be Avoided?. In: Alió, J.L., del Barrio, J.L.A. (eds) Modern Keratoplasty. Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32408-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32408-6_7

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