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Published on: May 26, 2023
Correlation of Visual Recovery and Increased Ellipsoid Zone Reflectivity After Successful Macular Hole Surgery
Büşra Yılmaz Tuğan1, Levent Karabaş1, Fatih Yenihayat2
1Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Kocaeli, Turkey.
Objectives:
To assess changes in reflectivity of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), ellipsoid zone (EZ), and external limiting membrane (ELM) on spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images and the effects of reflectivity changes on visual acuity improvement after vitrectomy in macular hole patients.
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-four eyes of 24 patients with idiopathic full-thickness macular hole closed after vitrectomy were retrospectively reviewed. The "plot profile" function of the medical imaging software was used by a single masked physician to analyze RPE, EZ, and ELM reflectivity on OCT images at postoperative 1 month and 12 months.
Results:
Absolute and relative EZ reflectivity showed highly significant increases at postoperative 12 months compared to 1 month (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Absolute and relative EZ reflectivity changes from postoperative month 1 to month 12 after macular hole surgery were significantly correlated with best corrected visual acuity improvement (p=0.012 and p=0.020, respectively).
Conclusion:
EZ reflectivity can be a predictor of functional and anatomical improvement after macular hole surgery.
