Persistence of retinal indocyanine green dye following vitreous surgery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To investigate the duration of postoperative persistence of indocyanine green (ICG) dye used during vitreous surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-three patients (34 eyes) underwent macular surgery with removal of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) or epiretinal membrane using ICG dye to stain the membrane for better visualization. Infrared fundus photographs were taken postoperatively until infrared fluorescence had completely disappeared. The time for residual ICG dye to fade from the retina was studied for eyes with full-thickness macular hole, epiretinal membrane, and macular edema for comparison. served at sites where macular hole was present, sites of normal ILM that had not been removed, and the optic disc. ICG dye faded at an average of 7.3 months for patients with macular hole and 3.4 months for patients with other macular diseases (P< .01). CONCLUSIONS ICG dye used during macular surgery can persist in the macular region for up to 7 months following surgery, and seems to remain for a longer period of time in cases with macular hole than in cases with other diseases. Caution is required regarding light exposure by postoperative fundus examinations, daylight, and other natural light.