vitrectomy

American

[vi-trek-tuh-mee] / vɪˈtrɛk tə mi /

noun

the microsurgical procedure of removing the vitreous humor and replacing it with saline solution, performed to improve vision that has been impaired by opacities.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

vitrectomies

plural

Etymology

Origin of vitrectomy

First recorded in 1965–70; vitr(eous humor) + -ectomy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The procedure begins with a vitrectomy, where the eye's vitreous gel is removed from between the lens and the retina.

From Science Daily • Oct. 20, 2025

So, this week I had surgery to place medicine implants in my eyes and had a vitrectomy to drain out the polluted vitreous fluid in my eyeball and replace it with a clear solution.

From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2018

The treatment we received for our detached retina was an operation called a vitrectomy, which entails the removal of the vitreous humor from the eyeball’s posterior chamber.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2015

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023