Subretinal implantation surgery and follow up in pig model

The dimension of the porcine eye is similar to the human eye. Combined with an almost identical anatomy to the human eye, the porcine eye makes an excellent model for surgical eye studies. Standard surgical instruments can be used in the pig model, and thereby can new surgical techniques be tested before they are introduced into the human.

Evaluation of the surgical outcome can be performed both in vivo, with fundus photo, OCT and mfERG, and ex vivo with histology, immunohistochemistry and molecular technologies.

Retinal pigment epithelium cells, biological membranes, artificial polymers and stem cells can be implanted in the pig, but the overall idea with subretinal implantation surgery is to regain function in diseased retina. There are transgenic porcine models of known retinal degenerative diseases and different iatrogenic traumas can simulate retinal disease, but there still need for development of new models.

For long time studies mini pigs are essential as modern pigs have been refined to gain weight quickly. Spontaneous regenerative potential and a remarkable resistance to retinal trauma can also invalidate interpretation of the surgical outcome.