3047: Quiz: Why did trypan blue dye stain like this?
A history of intravitreal injections complicated by an immediate post-injection anterior chamber tap with a 30-gauge needle can easily result in an iatrogenic micro-trauma or nick to the anterior lens capsule. However, the resulting trypan blue staining pattern presents an intriguing diagnostic puzzle, showing distinctive negative staining zones surrounding these focal capsular defects. This surrounding non-staining halo could be caused by localized focal edema of the underlying subcapsular cortex, fluid sequestration that alters local dye concentration, localized capsule separation, or an unusual alteration in the extracellular matrix at the site of trauma preventing uniform dye binding. Watch this video to inspect the unusual anterior capsule morphology up close as we tap our global community to solve this surgical mystery. What is your hypothesis for why the trypan blue dye produces these negative staining areas around the needle entry sites? Please comment your thoughts below to help crowdsource the answer.
