Dexamethasone implant in silicone oil: in vitro behavior

Abstract

First arrow from left to right: partial disintegration of the implant in BSS surrounded by a turbid appearance corresponding to released particles of the polymer, approximately one-third of the implant still preserves its original cylindrical shape. First arrow from left to right: complete disintegration of the implant in BSS, scattered particles suspended at the bottom of the tube with no visualization of the implant. The implants inside the 3 silicone oils showed no changes in their form, migration or physical characteristics. Because of the in vitro design of this study, we could not replicate entirely the in vivo properties of the vitreous and the behavior of the DEX implant inside a human eye. [...]even when this results might represent a closer idea of what to expect when a DEX implant is injected in a vitrectomized silicone oil-filled eye, it fails to answer if there was any release of the drug from the implant or if it ever reached therapeutic concentrations. Because samples were not acquired from the silicone oil-filled vitreous cavity, the answer to this questions may remain a matter of speculation.