Use of the Toric Surgical Marker to Aid in Intraoperative Plaque Placement for the USC Eye Physics Plaques to Treat Uveal Melanoma: A New Surgical Technique.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To describe a new surgical technique for intraoperative placement of Eye Physics (EP) plaques for uveal melanoma using a toric marker.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A toric marker is designed for cataract surgery to align the axis of astigmatism; its use was modified in this protocol to mark the axis of suture coordinates as calculated by Plaque Simulator (PS) software.

RESULTS: The toric marker can be used to localize suture coordinates, in degrees, during intraoperative plaque placement. Linear marking using the toric marker decreases potential inaccuracies associated with the surgeon estimating 'clock-hours' by dot placement.

CONCLUSION: Use of the toric marker aided surgical placement of EP plaques. The EP planning protocol is now designed to display the suture coordinates either by clock-hours or degrees, per surgeon preference. Future research is necessary to determine whether routine use of the toric marker improves operative efficiency. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2015;46:866-870.].