Vitrectomy in advanced diabetic eye disease: A seremban experience

Abstract

Aim: The aim is to study the pre-operative characteristics, outcome and postoperative complications in patients undergoing vitrectomy for advanced diabetic eye disease (ADED) and to identify factors that predict the poor visual outcome. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 177 consecutive vitrectomies in 168 patients with ADED, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Results: At presentation, 101 (61.2%) eyes had visual acuity (VA) of <6/60. Post-vitrectomy, 91.5% had improved or unchanged VA. The mean logMAR VA improved significantly from 1.73 to 0.82 (P = 0.0001). Improvement of at least 0.3 logMAR units was observed in 124 eyes (74.7%) and 15 eyes (9.0%) worsened by at least 0.3 logMAR units. Anatomic success was achieved in 97.7%. Post-operative complications included vitreous cavity haemorrhage in 37 eyes (21%), retinal detachment in 5 eyes (3%), and rubeotic glaucoma in 5 eyes (3%). At the last follow up, 37 eyes (20.9%) had VA of <6/60. Multivariate analysis showed that pre-operative VA <6/60 in either the operated or the unoperated eye, macular detachment and post-vitrectomy rubeosis iridis were predictors of poor post-operative vision. Conclusions: Majority of patients with ADED can expect improved VA or stabilisation of their proliferative retinopathy after vitrectomy. Surgeons should consider the predictors of poor visual outcome in the selection of patients and pre-operative counselling.

Keywords

• Advanced diabetic eye disease
• anatomical outcome
• visual outcome
• vitrectomy
• vitreous haemorrhage