Pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane removal in type 2 idiopathic macular telangiectasia

To report the anatomical and visual outcomes in a series of patients with type 2 idiopathic macular telangiectasia (mactel) and cystic foveal changes treated with pars plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane removal.

Five eyes of 3 patients with mactel were treated with 25-gauge sutureless transconjunctival pars plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling. Complete clinical examination, including serial spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, was performed preoperatively and postoperatively.

Two of 5 eyes had stable vision at 2-year follow-up with continued evidence of foveal cystic spaces on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Two eyes experienced significant visual improvement despite continued evidence of foveal anatomical disruption. One eye experienced slight visual decline and full-thickness macular hole formation.

Surgical intervention involving pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling may be a treatment option for select cases of mactel. Pars plana vitrectomy does not seem to alter the underlying disease process in mactel but may stabilize visual decline or lead to improved vision in some patients.