Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Resistant Cystoid Macular Edema

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Interventions
• Retinal Diseases

Background:

• Cystoid macular edema (CME) can be a debilitating condition affecting vision.
• Medical treatments for CME are not always effective, necessitating alternative approaches.
• Pars plana vitrectomy is a surgical option for refractory CME.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of pars plana vitrectomy in treating CME resistant to medical management.
• To evaluate visual acuity and central macular thickness changes after surgery.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study involving 30 eyes with refractory CME.
• Patients underwent 23G pars plana vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane/internal limiting membrane peeling and gas injection.
• Pre- and post-operative visual acuity and central macular thickness were measured over a six-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Postoperative visual acuity significantly improved from 0.11 to 0.61 (p<0.001).
• Postoperative central macular thickness significantly decreased from 578.00 μm to 223.80 μm (p<0.001).
• The observed improvements in both visual acuity and macular thickness were statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Pars plana vitrectomy with ERM/ILM peel and gas injection is an effective treatment for medically refractory CME.
• The procedure leads to significant improvements in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) confirmed a significant reduction in central macular thickness post-surgery.