Background: A patient with a retained intraocular metallic foreign body post-trauma was taken up for vitrectomy and intraocular foreign body removal. Unfortunately, the intraocular magnet was not available at the moment on the table! How a little bit of creativity and innovative thought helped us tide over this crisis is the content of this video.
Purpose: To demonstrate magnetization of a metallic surgical instrument for temporary use in the event of unavailability of the intraocular magnet for intraocular foreign body removal.
Synopsis: A ferromagnetic substance can be magnetized temporarily using an existing magnet. We obtained a general-purpose magnet and wrapped it in sterile plastic, using which we magnetized normal intraocular forceps and a Micro Vitreo Retinal (MVR) blade by giving about 20-30 strokes over the magnet in a single direction. This aligned the magnetic domains in the metal in a parallel fashion. These Do It Yourself (DIY)- magnetic instruments were then effectively utilized to remove the metallic intraocular foreign body.
Highlights: The video showcases effectively harnessing the available resources and tiding over the dearth of a necessary instrument, with the right use of an innovative idea and some creativity!.
Video link: https://youtu.be/QtRC-AK5FLU.
Keywords: Ferromagnetism; Intraocular foreign body; Trauma; Vitrectomy.