COMPARISON OF TRACTION FORCES IN EX VIVO VITRECTOMY USING 25+®G 20K CPM DUAL-BLADE AND 25+®G 10K CPM SINGLE-BLADE VITRECTOMY PROBES

PURPOSE: To compare vitreous traction forces generated by a 25+® gauge (G) 20,000 cuts per minute (CPM) dual-blade vitrectomy probe (HYPERVIT®) and a 25+®G 10,000 CPM single-blade vitrectomy probe (Advanced ULTRAVIT®) under flow-matched conditions. METHODS: Bovine vitreous was used in a simulated ex vivo vitrectomy model. Each probe (n=10 per type) engaged vitreous within a balanced salt solution (BSS®) chamber, while a force sensor recorded traction forces. Vacuum levels were set at 260 mmHg (dual-blade) and 340 mmHg (single-blade) to achieve flow-matching, and traction forces were measured across percentiles. RESULTS: Under flow-matched conditions, the dual-blade probe exhibited lower traction forces. Excluding forces <0.5 millinewton (mN), the 90th, 95th, and 99th percentile forces were 12.8%, 14.4%, and 14.4% lower, respectively (p<0.05). Overall mean, mean peak, and mean maximum forces were lowered by 8.01%, 15.78%, and 12.22%, respectively (p<0.05). The single-blade probe recorded traction forces of 1.60 ± 0.07 mN, 2.93 ± 0.14 mN, and 6.97 ± 0.38 mN, respectively. Whereas the dual-blade probe showed 1.47 ± 0.04 mN, 2.46 ± 0.12 mN, and 6.12 ± 0.26 mN (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The 25+G 20K CPM dual-blade probe generated lower traction forces than the 25+G 10K CPM single-blade probe under flow-matched conditions.