Creatively tiding over the crisis

ABSTRACT

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!.