Which among the following is the BEST irrigating fluid during ECCE?
High-Yield Explanation
BSS plus a balanced salt solution enhanced with bicarbonate, dextrose and glutathione. It is specially used for surgeries requiring prolonged irrigation such as phacoemulsification, pars plana vitrectomy and automated extracapsular cataract extraction. Balanced sterile solution is a sterile physiologically balanced irrigating fluid. It is the most frequently used solution during ophthalmic surgery to keep the cornea from drying out. BSS plus solution causes less corneal edema and endothelial cell damage following vitrectomy. The glutathione protects against depletion of endothelial ATP levels and maintains the integrity of the cell membrane by counteracting endogenous and exogenous oxidative agents. Ref: Surgical Technology for the Surgical Technologist: A Positive Care Approach By Association of Surgical Technologists page 223. Ocular Toxicity of Intraoperatively Used Drugs and Solutions By Rudolph Marie Matheus Antonius Nuijts page 16. Clinical Ophthalmology: Contemporary Perspectives, 9/e By Gupta page 43.