Methods of delivering an agent to the eye

A method of delivering an agent to the retina, the method comprising:

• removing at least a portion of the vitreous fluid from the eye, and introducing a fluid detection agent into the eye prior to or during the step of removing at least a portion of the vitreous fluid from the eye;
• replacing the removed vitreous fluid with a gas;
• removing at least a portion of the inner limiting membrane (ILM) to expose a section of the retina;
• applying a composition comprising an agent to the exposed section of the retina by dripping the composition onto the exposed section to form a puddle of the composition on the exposed section of the retina;
• optionally introducing a non-diluting, fluid replacement material into the eye;
• and
• maintaining the position of the agent on the exposed retina for at least 1 minute to allow the agent to enter cells in the retina;
• thereby delivering the agent to the retina.