Anatomic and visual outcomes of vitrectomy for lamellar macular holes

To assess anatomic and visual outcomes after pars plana vitrectomy for lamellar macular holes.

Charts of 746 patients who had vitrectomy surgery with membrane peel were reviewed. Preoperative diagnosis of lamellar macular hole was based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) appearance; 16 eyes of 16 patients met the inclusion criteria.

Mean acuity was 20/158 preoperatively and 20/118 postoperatively (P = .408). Central macular thickness was 377.06 µm preoperatively and 245.7 µm postoperatively (P = .002). Two eyes (13%) developed full-thickness macular holes postoperatively. Six eyes (38%) continued to have a lamellar macular defect on OCT postoperatively.

Despite postoperative anatomic improvement in many patients and an overall decrease in foveal thickness on OCT, this retrospective series suggests that vitrectomy for lamellar holes may not improve visual acuity.