Clinical results of pars plana vitrectomy in posterior-segment disorders

From June 1981 to August 1983, a total of 142 eyes with posterior-segment disorders were treated with a pars plana vitrectomy technique using the Ocutome II system. The patients were 45 years old on average, with an average follow-up of six months. Simple vitrectomy was performed in 108 eyes, and additional retinal reattachment surgery was performed in the remaining 34 eyes. The lens was removed in 56 eyes and untouched in 65 eyes; the remaining 21 eyes were either aphakic or pseudophakic. All of the cases were divided into six main groups: two diabetic groups, two nondiabetic groups, a penetrating trauma group, and an endophthalmitis group. The two diabetic groups included 16 eyes with vitreous opacity, six of them complicated by retinal detachment. The two nondiabetic groups included a total of 91 eyes, with 31 of them complicated by retinal detachment. The group with penetrating trauma included 24 eyes, seven of which had been injured by intraocular foreign bodies. The endophthalmitis group included 11 eyes, of which six were the result of penetrating trauma and five the result of cataract operation. In this series, vision was maintained or improved in 78.9% of cases and improved in 51.4%. Eyes with vitreous opacities in conjunction with retinal detachment were complicated by proliferative vitreoretinopathy of moderate or severe degree. The reattachment rate was 50.0% in the diabetic group and 51.6% in the nondiabetic group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)