ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1632889
Evaluation of Calcium Alginate Hydrogel for Suprachoroidal Buckling in a Rabbit Model: A Pilot Study on Efficacy and Biocompatibility
Provisionally accepted
- 1Peking Union Medical College Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- 3Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases Intelligent Diagnosis & Drug/Device Development and Translation, Beijing, China
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This study sought to assess the therapeutic efficacy, safety, and biocompatibility of calcium alginate hydrogel in suprachoroidal buckling procedures performed on rabbit eyes. Methods: 21 healthy New Zealand White rabbits underwent surgery, during which calcium alginate hydrogel was injected into the suprachoroidal space of one eye. Monthly ophthalmic examinations were performed for three months following the procedure. The assessments included external eye and fundus examinations, color fundus imaging, and optical coherence tomography. At the end of the observation period, both eyes from each rabbit were enucleated and subjected to histopathological evaluation.The surgery was successfully performed on 21 eyes, with the success buckling rate of 80.95% (17/21). 17 eyes of which showed favorable postoperative outcomes and no complications. During which, the average maximum dome height is 2470.42±876.11μm on the day of operation and 1585.97±351.93μm 3 months postoperatively, with the average difference of 866.37±592.94μm. 4 eyes experienced inadvertent perforations of both the choroid and retina, leading to vitreous and suprachoroidal hemorrhages. Histological evaluation confirmed the persistent presence of a suprachoroidal indentation in the treated eyes of the 17 rabbits without complications, with no observable abnormalities detected in the lenses or retinas. Conclusion: Calcium alginate hydrogel proved to be a safe and effective material for suprachoroidal buckling in rabbits, exhibiting excellent biocompatibility.
Keywords: Suprachoroidal buckling, Calcium alginate hydrogel, Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, Suprachoroidal space, ophthalmic surgery
Received: 22 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiao, Zhou, Lin, Chen and Dai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Huan Chen, Peking Union Medical College Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing, China
Rongping Dai, Peking Union Medical College Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing, China
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