Corneal needle; a modification.

THE corneal needle recently described (Evans, 1954) has filled a need in corneal surgery and continues to give satisfactory results. The makerst have now suggested a modification which I find is an improvement. The new version of the n.edle has the eye placed sideways, that is, in the lateral plane instead of in the same plane as the blade, and the eye is grooved as before. It will be realized that the broadest part of the needle is the width of the cutting edge at the middle of the blade and this is the dimension of the track through which the suture must follow. Since this measurement is a maximum and substantially greater than the corresponding perpendicular dimension, the suture passes more smoothly in this track than it would in the track perpendicular to it. In corneal grafting by edge-to-edge suture the modified needle has proved its worth, and is as robust as before, the eye standing up to compression in the needleholder without any loss of shape.