Blanco Varela et al. (2021). Current Eye Research. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2020.1868010
…51 μm were obtained from McMaster-Carr, trephine blades with 3.5 mm diameter (Item # 33–0350) were purchased from Ambler surgi cal. Rabbit eyes were obtained from VisionTech (Sunnyvale, Texas) and Pel-Freez Biologicals (Rogers, Arkansas). Pig eyes were obtained from VisionTech (Sunnyvale, Texas). Trephine parts designing and prototyping SolidWorks®, a 3-Dimensional computer-aided design (3D-CAD) software, was…
Abstract
<h4>Purpose</h4>Our goal is to develop a low-cost tool that can be used to create consistent, partial-thickness defects in rabbit and other large animals with minimal surgical training and that can facilitate pre-clinical testing of lamellar and in situ-forming biosynthetic matrix materials for corneal repair.<h4>Materials & methods</h4>In this study, three modified trephines were designed to create deep corneal wound defects with consistent depth in large animals. The modified trephines incorporated either 3D-printed parts made from photopolymerizable resins, or custom-cut commercially available Teflon sheets. Wound defects were imaged with optical coherence tomography (OCT), and the depth was analyzed based on the OCT images.<h4>Results</h4>The results revealed that an inner-stopper guard trephine had the best performance in creating consistent and precise wound defect depth compared to modified vacuum trephine and custom guard vacuum trephine. A 75% ± 10% cut of the cornea was achieved with the inner-stopper guard trephine. The wound defect depth by created by the inner-stopper guard trephine was independent of the corneal thickness or size of the globes. Although the cut depth of the inner-stopper guard trephine differed by the experience-level of its users, the consistency (standard deviation) of the depth was independent of experience.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our studies provided three cost-efficient animal trephines that can create corneal wounds of consistent depth by lab researchers without extensive training in keratectomy.