A multiport illumination system for panoramic bi-manual vitreous surgery.

A multiport illumination system (MIS) suitable for use during microsurgery of the vitreous body is presented. The MIS consists of several thin, illuminated pilot tubes, which are secured in the pars plana region and emit bright light at a wide angle. Through their lumen interchangeable 20 gauge instruments for active bi-manual vitreous surgery and an infusion pipe can be introduced. The system illuminates the entire field of wide-angle observation devices without the need for an additional hand-held light source.