Skip to content Skip to navigation

Vitreoretinal Surgery

An evidence-based approach to new retina surgery techniques.

We utilize state-of-the art surgical techniques and diagnostics, many of which we developed in our laboratory. We have a special interest in retina surgeries for hard to fix conditions like retinal detachment, epiretinal membranes, macular holes, optic pits, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and macular degeneration.

We routinely publish our advanced surgical methods and findings in peer-reviewed journals. Using a unique surgical database, we are able to rapidly identify the cause of surgical complications and modify techniques to fix and avoid them. This rigorous, evidence-based approach to surgery has enormous benefits to our patients.

In the laboratory, we have developed and tested novel wound construction for vitreoretinal surgery in infants and adults. We have also identified key molecules and gene variations that contribute to vitreoretinal disease.

Please contact us for a consultation or learn how to support our research programs.

News

Aug 9 2019 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Palo Alto, CA – As the eye ages, vision problems increase, making it harder to do everyday activities. When an older patient comes in with blurred or distorted central vision, one of the causes an ophthalmologist will check for is a macular hole. Macular holes can develop as the aging vitreous, the...
Dec 13 2017 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Using proteomics to identify new drug targets for PVR.
Jun 17 2012 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
We received grant support from the Fight for Sight organization to study an inherited form of inherited retinal detachment. In this family, children develop severe retinal detachments. Our genetic analysis suggests that a novel gene variant may be the cause, and efforts to identify the variant are...
Jun 16 2012 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
ADNIV is an inherited autoimmune disease of the eye. We performed a study to determine the benefit of Retisert, an implant that delivers steroids within the eye for several years. In a study published in the journal, Archives of Ophthalmology, we found that the implant inhibited specific features...
Jun 16 2012 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Endophthalmitis is a sight-threatening intraocular inflammatory disorder resulting from infection of the vitreous cavity. Following introduction of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), the role of this treatment modality for endophthalmitis was controversial. Our laboratory is studying whether new surgical...
Apr 28 2012 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog, Press
Optimizing surgeon positioning and instrumentation relative to the eye is critical for successful ophthalmic microsurgery. Positional preferences have evolved over time with changing instrumentation and operative techniques. Most cataract surgeons now perform phacoemulsification from a temporal...
Apr 12 2012 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Christopher Cooper of Marion was just two months old when he had his first eye surgery at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in 2010. Born with congenital cataracts, Christopher needed the early surgeries to remove the cataracts and move toward a corrected vision. During a routine doctor’s...
Jun 21 2011 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Although I have never operated on the wrong eye, I have had three near misses. A review of nearly 1000 surgical cases at five different hospital operating rooms revealed a common pattern that lead to the wrong eye being set for surgery.
| Posted In: 20/20 Blog
In collaboration with Alexander Bassuk, M.D., Ph.D., we identified in new gene variation that causes Knobloch Syndrome.
| Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Whether vitrectomy surgery for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is harmful or helpful is not known. A study we co-authored suggests there may be some benefit for certain types of AMD. In our study 2009, published in Ophthalmology, we did not detect that vitrectomy surgery increased the...
| Posted In: 20/20 Blog
The vitreous gel normally displays a graded density at different anatomical locations. Although it is estimated to be nearly 90% water, the vitreous gel contains diverse proteins, proteoglycans, and small molecules that originate from within and outside the eye. In specific vitreoretinal diseases,...

Publications

Autologous stem cell therapy for inherited and acquired retinal disease, Apatoff, Mary Ben L., Sengillo Jesse D., White Eugenia C., Bakhoum Mathieu F., Bassuk Alexander G., Mahajan Vinit B., and Tsang Stephen H. , Regenerative medicine, (2018)
Personalized proteomics in proliferative vitreoretinopathy implicate hematopoietic cell recruitment and mTOR as a therapeutic target, C Roybal, Nathaniel, Velez Gabriel, Toral Marcus A., Tsang Stephen H., Bassuk Alexander G., and Mahajan Vinit B. , American journal of ophthalmology, (2017)
Acanthamoeba Endophthalmitis After Recurrent Keratitis And Nodular Scleritis, Mammo, Zaid, Almeida David R. P., Cunningham Matthew A., Chin Eric K., and Mahajan Vinit B. , Retinal Cases and Brief Reports, Volume 11, p.180–182, (2017)
COMBINED VITRECTOMY AND INTRAVITREAL DEXAMETHASONE (OZURDEX) SUSTAINED-RELEASE IMPLANT., Zheng, Andrew, Chin Eric K., Almeida David R. P., Tsang Stephen H., and Mahajan Vinit B. , Retina, 2016 Nov, Volume 36, Issue 11, p.2087-2092, (2016)
Comparison of microbiology and visual outcomes of patients undergoing small-gauge and 20-gauge vitrectomy for endophthalmitis., Almeida, David R. P., Chin Eric K., Shah Shaival S., Bakall Benjamin, Gehrs Karen M., H Boldt Culver, Russell Stephen R., Folk James C., and Mahajan Vinit B. , Clin Ophthalmol, 2016, Volume 10, p.167-72, (2016)
Management of Pediatric Aphakic Glaucoma With Vitrectomy and Tube Shunts., Elshatory, Yasser M., Gauger Elizabeth H., Kwon Young H., Alward Wallace L. M., H Boldt Culver, Russell Stephen R., and Mahajan Vinit B. , J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus, 2016 Nov 01, Volume 53, Issue 6, p.339-343, (2016)