Self-Sealing Trabeculectomy Eliminates Scleral Flap Suturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional trabeculectomy for glaucoma treatment faces challenges such as postsurgical complications due to scleral flap suturing, including high and low intraocular pressure, scarring, and surgically induced astigmatism, which affect the success rate and visual quality of patients.
Innovation Solution
The novel self-sealing trabeculectomy eliminates the need for scleral suturing by using a self-sealing scleral flap and a filtering function adjusting device, allowing for automatic filtering and adjustment, thereby improving surgical safety and reducing complications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If scleral flap suturing is performed in traditional trabeculectomy, then the surgery can be completed with conventional techniques, but postsurgical complications such as high and low intraocular pressure, scarring, and surgically induced astigmatism occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the scleral flap suturing step from the traditional trabeculectomy procedure. By extracting this harmful element, the invention eliminates the associated complications including high and low intraocular pressure, scarring, and surgically induced astigmatism, while maintaining the core filtering function through a self-sealing scleral flap design
Solution Approach 2:
The scleral flap is designed to seal automatically without requiring external sutures. The self-sealing mechanism uses the natural tissue properties and surgical technique to achieve closure, allowing the flap to function autonomously without the need for foreign suture materials that cause scarring and complications
2Reliability
If adjustable suture is used to control intraocular pressure, then the success rate of surgery increases, but removal of the suture causes secondary damage and the removing time is difficult to grasp
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the adjustable suture from the procedure entirely. By extracting this element, the patent eliminates the need for postoperative suture removal, avoiding secondary damage and the complexity of determining optimal removal timing, while maintaining intraocular pressure control through the self-sealing flap mechanism
3Reliability
If scleral flap suturing is performed, then the filtration channel can be sealed, but excessive suturing produces large corneal astigmatism exceeding 10 D
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates scleral flap suturing, which is the direct cause of excessive corneal astigmatism. By removing this harmful intervention, the invention prevents astigmatism exceeding 10 D while maintaining adequate filtration channel sealing through the self-sealing flap design
Data Source
AI summary
A self-sealing trabeculectomy, which solves the problems in existing scleral flap suturing. The self-sealing trabeculectomy includes the following steps: S1: before a surgery, conducting disinfection, draping and eye speculum placement, and conducting local infiltration anesthesia under a surgical eye conjunctiva; S2: making a conjunctival flap; S3: making a 4 mm×3 mm or 4 mm×4 mm scleral flap; S4: resecting a root of an iris and trabecular tissues, smoothing the scleral flap with a restoration instrument, and suturing the bulbar conjunctiva with a nylon thread to reach a watertight state; S5: removing a suspending suture for the rectus or a cornea, reducing the eye speculum to weaken a tension of the eye speculum, and forming an anterior chamber; S6: taking out the eye speculum; and S7: after the surgery, conventionally locally applying a corticosteroid hormone and a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug, keeping a filtration channel unobstructed.