Vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane peeling for each stage of myopic traction maculopathy

To evaluate the effect of vitrectomy on the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and postoperative complications in highly myopic eyes with myopic traction maculopathy.

The medical records of 71 eyes of 64 patients with myopic traction maculopathy and high myopia (≤-8.0 diopters and axial length, ≥26.0 mm) were reviewed. Twenty-six eyes had only macular retinoschisis, 30 eyes had foveal detachment, and 15 eyes had macular hole. The BCVA and complications were studied in eyes that underwent vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling.

The postoperative BCVA at the final visit significantly improved in the macular retinoschisis and the foveal detachment groups (P = 0.003 and P = 0.010, respectively) but not in the macular hole group (P = 0.069). The BCVA in the macular retinoschisis group and the foveal detachment group with ILM peeling significantly improved at the final visit (P = 0.003 and P = 0.010, respectively). The BCVA at the final visit significantly correlated with age (P = 0.026) and ILM peeling (P = 0.034). A recurrence of tractional macular detachment developed more frequently in eyes without ILM peeling (P = 0.018).

These results indicate that vitrectomy with ILM peeling can lead to improvement in vision in patients with macular retinoschisis or foveal detachment with visual impairments.