Lights-out Surgery for Strabismus Using a Heads-Up 3D Vision System

During strabismus surgery using illumination from a light source, patients complain of photophobia. The NGENUITY (R) (Alcon) system is equipped with a high-dynamic-range (HDR) camera. A 4K display viewed by wearing circularly polarized glasses provides clear three-dimensional images of the operative field. A light source is usually required for surgeries of the anterior segment (including strabismic surgery), but the digital processing function of the NGENUITY (R) system allows image display in relatively dark regions even without a light source. We devised a novel 'lights-out' surgery that does not use a microscope's light source, and we examined the usefulness of this technique in 2 cases of strabismic surgery. We performed strabismus surgery using the NGENUITY (R) system in two patients between January and June 2018. The HDR function was used, and the aperture was opened to the maximum while the gain was adjusted. Surgery was conducted without using the microscope's light source. We report the 2 cases' results and evaluate the novel method. The surgeries were performed without problem even though the microscope's light source was not used. The patients' photophobia was alleviated. Lights-out surgery is a potentially useful modality for strabismus surgery.