[Surgical treatment of idiopathic macular hole: what is new one year later]

We report the results of 23 idiopathic macular hole surgeries on 23 patients consecutively operated on. There are 20 stage III and 3 stage II holes, according to the classification of Gass. Anatomical success, defined as a macular hole with a 360 degrees flat edge, or as a macular hole which is no more visible, is obtained in 13 cases; functional success, defined as a visual acuity improvement of 2 lines or more at the last visit, is obtained in 11 cases. Postoperative rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is noted in 2 cases. With such results, our conclusions are less optimistic as in 1994. If macular hole surgery is very efficient in some patients, larger studies are still needed in order to better define the most successful surgical indications and technique.