This intraoperative image was obtained from a 55YO female undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for a total rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Brilliant Blue G (BBG) dye was injected to facilitate membrane peeling, followed by the injection of perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL) to flatten the posterior retina.
The PFCL was introduced while residual BBG dye was still present within the vitreous cavity. During the injection, a transient increase in infusion pressure caused mild intraoperative turbulence, resulting in fragmentation of the PFCL into multiple microbubbles that unexpectedly became infused with BBG dye.
Intraoperative photography captured this striking appearance of mid-vitreous BBG-stained PFCL microbubbles. The posterior retina is attached beneath a larger, unstained PFCL bubble, while the retina remains detached in the more anterior regions.
