Fig. 1

Applied silicone oil removal techniques. a: Polyimide cannulas have a thinner wall due to the rigid high-performance polymer polyimide thus increasing the inner diameter. We tested 5 different lengths of the otherwise unchanged 23G-polyimide-cannula in a laboratory study and a porcine eye study. b: The extraction sleeve is placed over the trocar, thus using the inner lumen of the trocar for the silicone oil removal process. The use with 23G-, 25G- and 27G-trocars (schematically shown in blue, yellow and red, respectively) was evaluated. c: The luer-trocar is a system consisting of a female luer-lock piece attached to a trocar. As such, a stable connection to the syringe is formed. The trocar is used as the lumen. 23G-,25G- and 27G-luer trocar systems (schematically shown in blue, yellow and red, respectively) were used