| abstract |
A microsurgical instrument used in ophthalmic surgery to remove proliferative membrane during a surgical procedure treating proliferative vitreoretinal membrane disorders and other macular diseases where the microsurgical instrument has an instrument handle (13), a tip (33), and abrasive particles (60) attached to a scraping edge projecting beyond the tip. The microsurgical instrument may be fitted with infusion, aspiration, or illumination sources, and these sources are directed to the surgical site in proximity to the scraping edge, the abrasive particles (60) on the edge scrape membranes to remove tissue at the surgical site. In one embodiment, the microsurgical instrument may be configured with a retractable/extendable pick where the relative stiffness of the pick and the edge may be adjusted. In another embodiment the edge may also be angularly positionable as it is retracted extended from the microsurgical instrument. |