Conjunctival flap in manual sutureless small-incision cataract surgery: a necessity or dogmatic

Use of Cryopreserved Amniotic Membrane During Pterygium Excision: Health Economic Analysis

Purpose

To determine the health economic opportunity cost or gain associated with performing pterygium excision surgery using the TissueTuck technique with cryopreserved amniotic membrane (AM) instead of conjunctival autograft (CAU).

Methods

We performed a literature review to determine the average surgical duration of pterygium surgery using CAU with fibrin glue or sutures to calculate the average time saved with the TissueTuck technique. Such time savings was then used to determine the opportunity revenue gain per national average Medicare reimbursement if adjusted to the average surgical duration of cataract surgery.

Results

The time savings achieved using the TissueTuck technique over CAU with fibrin glue is 8.9 min per procedure, which can be applied to additional MSICS or phacoemulsification procedures to generate an opportunity revenue gain of $1167 or $762 per 2022 National Average Medicare reimbursement, respectively. After subtracting the current list cost of AmnioGraft (ie, $645), the opportunity gain is $522 or $117 if the time saving is applied to the above procedures, respectively. Alternatively, the time savings achieved by using the TissueTuck technique over CAU with sutures is 23.4 min per procedure, which can be applied to additional MSICS or phacoemulsification procedures to generate an opportunity revenue gain of $3068 and $2004 per TissueTuck procedure or $2423 or $1359 when accounting for the list cost of AmnioGraft, respectively.

Conclusion

The TissueTuck surgical technique using cryopreserved AM for pterygium takes less time, has lower recurrence rates, and provides an opportunity gain compared to pterygium excision with CAU.

Comparison of surgically induced astigmatism between horizontal and X-pattern sutures in the scleral tunnel incisions for manual small incision cataract surgery

Background:

Two types of popular scleral tunnel sutures in the manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) are horizontal and X-pattern sutures. Surgically induced corneal astigmatism (SIA) is a useful indicator of the suturing effect.

Aims:

To compare SIA between horizontal and X-pattern sutures in the scleral tunnel incisions for MSICS.

Design:

Prospective, nonrandomized comparative trial.

Materials and Methods:

After superior scleral tunnel incision and capsulorhexis, the nucleus was prolapsed into the anterior chamber and delivered. The wound was sutured with either horizontal or X-pattern suture. The simulated keratometry values were derived from the corneal topography preoperatively and 1.5 and 3 months postoperatively.

Statistical Analysis:

The SIA was calculated by Cartesian coordinates based analysis.

Results:

Sixty-four patients (32 patients in each group) were included in the study. In the horizontal suture group, the SIA centroid values at 1.5 and 3 months after the surgery were 0.87 × 1° and 1.11 × 180°, respectively, showing induction of against-the-rule astigmatism. In the X-pattern suture group, the SIA centroid values at 1.5 and 3 months after the surgery were 0.61 × 97° and 0.66 × 92°, respectively, showing induction of mild with-the-rule astigmatism. The difference between the amount of SIA at 1.5 and 3 months after surgery was small.

Conclusion:

In the MSICS, the X-pattern sutures were preferred to the horizontal sutures in the patients without significant preoperative steepening in line with the central meridian of the incision. In the cases with significant preoperative steepening, sutureless surgery or horizontal sutures were preferred. Corneal astigmatism in the patients undergoing MSICS was stable at 1.5 months after the surgery.