Long-term Visual Outcomes in Patients With Idiopathic Macular Hole Surgery.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Surgery
• Macular Hole Research

Background:

• Idiopathic full-thickness macular holes (FTMHs) can impair vision.
• Surgical repair is a common treatment for FTMHs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the long-term outcomes of surgical repair for idiopathic FTMHs.
• To evaluate functional and structural recovery after FTMH surgery with over 5 years of follow-up.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of patients with idiopathic FTMH undergoing surgical repair.
• Data collected included demographics, preoperative characteristics, and postoperative spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings.
• Visual acuity and OCT assessments were performed up to 9 years postoperatively.

Main Results:

• 90 eyes of 80 patients were analyzed, with an average follow-up of 80.8 months.
• Macular hole reoperation rate was 4%.
• Ellipsoid zone (EZ) integrity was maintained in 67.8% of eyes, and intraretinal fluid (IRF) was absent in 96% on final OCT. Mean visual acuity improved significantly and remained stable long-term.

Conclusions:

• Vitreoretinal surgery for idiopathic FTMH achieves successful hole closure.
• Sustained visual acuity improvement is observed over long-term follow-up after FTMH repair.