Intraoperative pressure levels needed to initiate blebs vary during subretinal gene therapy

Of the 112 patients receiving ocular gene therapy at one institution, 56 were treated using the pneumatic-assisted subretinal delivery with foot-pedal control. Researchers reviewed the balanced salt solution pre-bleb maximum pressure (BSS pre-bleb max) and the bleb propagation minimum and maximum pressures in pounds per square inch (PSI).

The average BSS pre-bleb max to initiate a retinal bleb was 9.5 PSI (range 4-20), with an average of 8.8 -10.1 PSI across retinal conditions. The average minimum and maximum pressure to propagate a retinal bleb was 4.4 PSI (range 2-10) and 7.7 PSI (range 4-16), respectively. The average minimum and maximum pressure to propagate a retinal bleb across retinal conditions was 3.7 – 5.3 PSI and 6.6 – 9.6 PSI, respectively.

“Our series characterizes the intraoperative pressure levels for creating retinal blebs during sub-retinal delivery of ocular gene therapy. These results allow us to further refine our surgical technique for subretinal delivery of ocular gene therapy,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Lauer A, et al. Creating blebs for subretinal gene delivery. Presented at: ASRS 2020 Virtual Meeting.