Published online Dec 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i4.92246
Revised: June 26, 2024
Accepted: July 5, 2024
Published online: December 20, 2024
Processing time: 188 Days and 6.9 Hours
Diabetic vitrectomy is a highly intricate surgical procedure performed during the advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). It is used to treat conditions such as tractional or combined retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and subhyaloid hemorrhage, which are all severe manifestations of proliferative DR. The results of the surgery are uncertain and variable. Vitreoretinal surgery has made significant progress since the early stages of vitrectomy. In the past ten years, advancements in intravitreal pharmacotherapy have emerged, offering new possibilities to improve the surgical results for our patients. Within the realm of medical terminology, an "adjunct" refers to a pharmaceutical or substance employed to aid or expedite the primary therapeutic intervention for a particular ailment. Their introduction has broadened the range of therapeutic choices that are accessible prior to, during, and following surgical procedures. This review article will specifically analyze the pharmacological adjuncts used in diabetic vitrectomy surgery, with a focus on their role in facilitating or aiding specific steps of the procedure. The implementation of this system of categorization offers benefits to the surgeon by allowing them to foresee potential difficulties that may occur during the surgical procedure and to choose the appropriate pharmacological agent to effectively tackle these challenges, thus enhancing surgical success rates.
Core Tip: For advanced diabetic retinopathy, diabetic vitrectomy is a complex procedure with unpredictable outcomes. In the last decade, intravitreal pharmacotherapy has advanced, providing new ways to improve surgical outcomes for our patients. In medicine, an "adjunct" refers to a drug or substance that supplements the main treatment. This review will look at the pharmacological adjuncts used in diabetic vitrectomy surgery and how they affect specific steps. The categorization system enables surgeons to anticipate surgical issues and select the appropriate pharmacological agent to address them, thereby increasing surgical success rates.