NONVITRECTOMIZING VITREOUS SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH MACULAR HOLES

To evaluate the efficacy of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling combined with gas tamponade in nonvitrectomizing vitreous surgery (NVS) for macular holes (MHs).

A total of 21 patients (21 eyes) with MHs who underwent NVS with ILM peeling and a small C3F8 gas bubble tamponade and completed at least 6 months of follow-up were included. The status of hole closure and visual acuity change were evaluated.

There were two secondary MHs and 19 idiopathic MHs with the mean minimal diameter of 309.47 ± 165.71 µ m at baseline. Hole closure was achieved in 19 (90.47%) eyes after the primary operation. The best-corrected visual acuity was improved from preoperative 20/400-20/28 (0.74 ± 0.29 logMAR) to postoperative 20/166-20/22 (0.32 ± 0.22 logMAR) ( P < 0.001).

The procedure of NVS with ILM peeling combined with short-term gas tamponade can promote closure of small- to medium-sized MHs. This simplified surgical approach relieves the tangential force coming from the ILM and releases the vitreous adhesion from the macular surface while preserving the vitreous cortex.