Ultrastructural characteristics of preretinal membranes from human eyes filled with silicone oil.

We removed preretinal membranes previously in contact with an intraocular silicone oil bubble from 22 human eyes for ultrastructural examination. All had membrane-bound intracytoplasmic vacuoles, which most likely had been filled with silicone oil before tissue processing. The vacuolation was more pronounced at the surface of the membrane. In the course of ingestion of silicone oil by preretinal cells, giant vacuoles may form by fusion of smaller vacuoles as these cells lack the ability to digest silicone oil.