Clinical Ophthalmology (Oct 2022)
Internal Limiting Membrane Peeling and Gas Tamponade For Full-Thickness Macular Holes of Different Etiology – Is It Still Relevant?
Abstract
Andrii Ruban,1 Beáta Éva Petrovski,2 Goran Petrovski,2– 4 Lyubomyr M Lytvynchuk5,6 1Center of Clinical Ophthalmology, Kyiv, Ukraine; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; 3Center for Eye Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 4Department of Ophthalmology, University of Split School of Medicine and University Hospital Centre, Split, Croatia; 5Department of Ophthalmology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Eye Clinic, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg GmbH, Giessen, Germany; 6Karl Landsteiner Institute for Retinal Research and Imaging, Vienna, AustriaCorrespondence: Lyubomyr M Lytvynchuk, Department of Ophthalmology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Eye Clinic, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg GmbH, Campus Giessen, Friedrichstrasse 18, Giessen, 35392, Germany, Tel +49 64198543820, Fax +49 64198543809, Email [email protected]: Despite the abundance of novel surgical approaches proposed for full thickness macular hole (FTMH) treatment, the choice of the optimal technique remains debatable Vitrectomy with «classic» internal limiting membrane peeling and gas tamponade remains the standard of FTMH surgery in many cases, but there are still very limited recent publications on the outcomes of such surgery.Purpose: To investigate the anatomical and functional result and to analyze the significance of outcome-related risk factors of the classic 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with ILM peeling and gas tamponade (GT) for treatment of FTMH of different etiology.Patients and methods: Thirty-eight eyes of thirty-seven patients with FTMH who underwent 25-gauge PPV, ILM peeling and GT were recruited for this retrospective, consecutive, interventional study. Four eyes with persistent holes underwent a re-operation. Outcome-related factors were discussed.Results: The primary closure rate was 89.5% (34/38). All eyes that underwent the repeated surgery (4 cases) obtained final closure. A hole size of > 500 μm has a statistically significant effect on the primary macular hole closure (F = 0.048; &phis; = 0.38; p ˂ 0.05). In the general group (N = 38), the duration of symptoms directly correlated with age (ρ = 0.34; p = 0.04), size of the hole (ρ = 0.66; p ˂ 0.001) and BCVA before surgery (ρ = 0.59; p ˂ 0.001), after 1 month (ρ = 0.36; p = 0.03), and after 3 months (ρ = 0.35; p = 0.03). Preoperative BCVA was better in initially closed cases (Group 1) (U = 26.0; p = 0.05). In the Group 2 with primary unclosed holes, 75% of the eyes (3/4) had an axial length (AL) > 26 mm, while in Group 1 such eyes were 12.5 times less (2/34) 5.9% (F = 0.004; &phis; = 0.63; р ˂ 0.01). The ELM recovery rate at 3 months was 92% (35/38 eyes) and the restoration of EZ at 3 months was 47% (18/38 eyes). Best-corrected visual acuity of all individuals improved significantly from 0.72 ± 0.35 (logMAR) (Me = 0.7; IQR: 0.5– 0.8) to 0.25± 0.14 (logMAR) (Me = 0.2; IQR: 0.2 – 0.3) at 1 month and 0.17 ± 0.13 (logMAR) (Me = 0.2; IQR: 0.1 – 0.2) at 3 months after surgery (P = 0.0001).Conclusion: 25G PPV with ILM and GT for FTMH of different etiology provide satisfactory morphologic and functional outcomes. Elongated AL, large diameter of MH and long duration of symptoms are the risk factors for initial closure. Proper second surgery can obtain satisfactory outcomes for persistent holes.Keywords: full-thickness macular hole, pars plana vitrectomy, internal limiting membrane peeling, gas tamponade, restoration of ELM/EZ, macular hole closure
