Precision That Saves Eyesight

Stereomicroscopes in the Production of Surgical Instruments

Contact and Information

Heinz Etter, Head of Facility Management,
Alcon Grieshaber AG
Heinz.Etter@alconlabs.com

Images 1: © Fotolia, Glenn Jenkinson
Images 2 – 9: © Alcon Grieshaber

: 1: Surgery in the posterior segment of the eye may be standard practice in ophthalmology today, but it is not easy to perform. It demands sensitivity and experience as well as complex technology – from the surgical microscope to the microinstruments directly applied by the surgeon at the site of the retina or macula requiring treatment. Retina surgery is only possible using a surgical microscope, and three incisions have to be made to access the posterior segment: one for illumination, one for the instrument and one for the infusion to stabilize inner eye pressure.
1: Visual nerve, 2: Sclera, 3: Retina, 4: Lens, 5: Vitreous humor, 6: Macula.

: 7, 2-7: The hand-held precision instruments of Alcon Grieshaber that are used for the various steps of an eye operation have a worldwide reputation of excellence. Depending on the surgical technique employed by the surgeon or the exact reason for surgery, he needs instruments that fi t through an incision of 1.15, 0.72 or 0.62 mm to access the inner eye. That is equivalent to an instrument diameter of 0.9 (20-Gauge), 0.6 (23-Gauge) or 0.5 mm (25-Gauge). The surgeon does not open the scissors or forceps until they have been introduced into the eye. The instruments are freely rotatable. When performing surgery, the surgeon just has to correct the pressure angle. The trend towards smaller incisions has the key advantage that the smallest incisions heal by themselves without suturing. For the instruments, miniaturization means more and more sophisticated manufacturing techniques and materials and the fact that only single-use instruments can be effectively utilized. Even the smallest damage that is inevitably entailed in a conventional sterilization process renders the microinstruments useless.

: 8: The manufacture of microinstruments for eye surgery demands a great deal of precision work – skill, experience, a trained eye and a good portion of perfectionism. Most quality inspection tests are carried out at 20x magnification. Higher magnification would tend to have the effect that even the smallest details that do not impair product quality would be interpreted as defects. In production, higher magnifications are required, mostly 60x. Alcon Grieshaber attaches great importance to individual ergonomic features of the microscope and the workplace. Leica Stereomicroscopes offer the widest and most fl exible range of accessories for this purpose.

: 9: Like nearly all the employees, Jürg Attinger, Manager of Alcon Grieshaber, has a steromicroscope at his workplace. The qualified precision mechanic and engineer knows the business from the bottom up. Although now a manager, he still wants to be close to the products, to be able to see and understand them and make his own judgement.