Macular hole surgery with short-acting gas and short-duration face-down positioning

To report on the outcomes of vitrectomy and sulfur hexafluoride (SF(6)) gas tamponade for idiopathic macular holes with 2 days of face-down positioning.

This was a prospective, nonrandomized, observational sequential case-series study on 23 consecutive patients receiving macular hole surgery using 20% SF(6) and advised to stay in a face-down position for 2 days postoperatively (SF(6) group). These patients were compared to 23 consecutive patients who had previously undergone macular hole surgery, had received 14% C(3)F(8), and were advised to maintain a face-down position for 2 days (C(3)F(8) group). Patients in both groups underwent vitrectomy, internal limiting membrane peeling, and fluid gas exchange using either SF(6) or C(3)F(8.) Preoperative and postoperative data included best corrected visual acuity recorded in LogMAR units, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and optical coherence tomography.

At a 6-month follow-up, macular hole closure was noted in 23/23 eyes (100%) and in 22/23 eyes (96%) in the SF(6) and C(3)F(8) groups, respectively. The improvement in visual acuity (measured through Snellen acuity lines both preoperatively until 6 months postoperatively) was 4.08 ± 2.31 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.08-5.08) for the SF(6) group and 2.87 ± 2.30 (95% CI: 1.87-3.86) for the C(3)F(8) group; this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.06).

Vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and a short-acting gas tamponade using SF(6) with posture limitation for 2 days may give a high success rate in macular hole surgery.