iPRO Elite Silicone Eye Protector

Reasons for Taping Patient’s Eyes during Surgery
Millions of patients undergo surgery under general anaesthesia every year¹. The most common type of damage to the eye is corneal abrasion². It is not always certain why or how corneal abrasion happens during general anesthesia. Around 60% of patients do not close their eyes completely during the Anesthetic³. As a result the cornea is exposed to the air and can become dry. The lacrimal gland also produces fewer tears, leading to the drying of the eye⁴. When the cornea is dry, it can stick to the inside of the eyelid, possibly leading to an abrasion when the eye is opened again. To prevent this from occurring, the most common method is taping the eye.

Challenges Associated with Eye Taping
The most common method of eye protection remains to use a roll of surgical tape with an acrylic adhesive. However, there are risks associated with this:

Infection

• Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) affect 1.4 million people per annum world wide⁵
• 74% of used tape rolls have bacterial growth⁶
• Tapes are potential reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria and fungi⁶

Skin Abrasion

• Medical adhesive related skin injury (MARSI) affects approximately 1.5 million patients per annum world wide⁷
• MARSI is associated with dermal bruising, skin tears, skin irritation and eyelash removal

Combating the Risk with iPRO
The iPRO Elite Silicone Eye Protector is an affordable, single-use product that can be used as an alternative to adhesive tape during surgery. iPRO can be easily applied to the patient’s eye during induced anesthesia, enabling the orbital area to remain in its pre-surgery condition.
It is characterized by the following features:

Non-adhesive tab

• Aids placement, positioning and removal
• Eyelash friendly

Gentle adhesive design

• No pulling and ripping⁸
• Reduces the risk of skin tears and abrasions
• Continuous monitoring of eye and orbital area during surgery

Closed package and single-use sheets in pairs

• Reduces the risk of contamination

¹ BJA: British Journal of Anaesthesia, Volume 113, Issue 4, 1 October 2014, Pages 575–584.
² Prakash, S. 2013. Perioperative eye protection under general anesthesia. Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology vol 29, pp. 138–9.
³ White, E. and Cross, M. 1998. The aetiology and prevention of peri-operative corneal abrasions. Anaesthesiology vol 53, pp. 157–161.
⁴ Contractor, S. and Hardman, J. 2006. Injury during anaesthesia. Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain vol 6(2), pp. 67–70.
⁵ World Health Organization. 2002 . Prevention of hospital-acquired infections : a practical guide / editors : G. Ducel, J. et al. 2nd. ed. Geneva, Switzerland : World Health Organization.
⁶ Redelmeier, D. and Livesley, N. 1999. Adhesive tape and intravascular-catheter-associated infections. Journal of General Internal Medicine vol 14, pp. 373-375.
⁷ Konya, C. et al. 2010. Skin injuries caused by medical adhesive tape in older people and associated factors. Journal of Clinical Nursing vol 19, pp. 1236‐42.
⁸ Fannin Ltd Comparative Study of Acrylic vs. Silicone Eye Protection, Fannin House Dublin, 2021.