The Safety of Medical Devices Used During Intraocular Surgery

This review article summarizes the experience of the Retina Group at the Institute for Applied Ophthalmobiology, University of Valladolid, Spain. Different perfluorocarbon liquids used in intraocular surgery are discussed, as they have caused hundreds of cases of irreversible blindness in many countries since 2013. The possible causes are examined, and consideration is given to the current status and the measures that should be taken to prevent these situations from occurring in the future. Among these are: a greater awareness among ophthalmologists so they report suspected cases to their respective health agencies (medical devices office), without fear of legal reprisals by either government agencies or patients; a closer collaboration between expert clinicians and manufacturers on committees for the International Organization for Standardization in order to regulate each product individually; and the conducting of appropriate chemical and biological tests to guarantee the safety of the products.