Displacement of the retina after idiopathic macular hole surgery with different internal limiting membrane peeling patterns

Retinal displacement after surgery for idiopathic macular hole

AIM

To review and summarize the mechanism hypothesis, influencing factors and possible consequences of macular retinal displacement after idiopathic macular hole (IMH) surgery.

METHODS

PubMed and Web of Science database was searched for studies published before April 2023 on "Retinal displacement", "Idiopathic macular holes", and "Macular displacement".

RESULTS

Recently, more academics have begun to focus on retinal displacement following idiopathic macular holes. They found that internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling was the main cause of inducing postoperative position shift in the macular region. Moreover, several studies have revealed that the macular hole itself, as well as ILM peeling method, will have an impact on the result. In addition, this phenomenon is related to postoperative changes in macular retinal thickness, cone outer segment tips line recovery, the occurrence of dissociated optic nerve fiber layer (DONFL) and the degree of metamorphopsia.

CONCLUSION

As a subclinical phenomenon, the clinical significance of postoperative macular displacement cannot be underestimated as it may affect the recovery of anatomy and function.

Comparison of outcomes of idiopathic macular holes treated by vitrectomy with air or silicone oil tamponade based on the hole size

AIM

To compare the efficacy of vitrectomy combined with air or silicone oil in the treatment of idiopathic macular hole (IMH).

METHODS

According to the results of high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT), 75 cases (75 eyes) of IMH in stage II-IV (Gass stage) in the General Hospital of Chinese PLA from January 2017 to December 2019 were collected for this retrospective study. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and minimum diameter of IMH (MMHD) were measured. Eyes underwent vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane peeling operation, and were divided into disinfection air group (30 eyes) and silicone oil group (45 eyes) according to the intraocular tamponade. For MMHD≤400 µm (MMHD1), there were 23 eyes in air group and 16 eyes in silicone oil group. For MMHD2>400 µm (MMHD2), there were 7 eyes in air group and 29 eyes in silicone oil group. One month after surgery, the closure rates of IMH and BCVA were compared and analyzed. According to HD-OCT, the closure shape was graded with A (bridge closure) and B (good closure).

RESULTS

The closure rates of air group and silicone oil group were 86.67% and 95.56% respectively with no significant difference (P>0.05); For MMHD1, those of air group and silicone oil group were 95.65% and 100% respectively with no significant difference (P>0.05); For MMHD2, those of air group and silicone oil group were 57.14% and 93.10% respectively, and those of the silicone oil group were higher than the air group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the closure shape grade between MMHD1 air group and silicone oil group (P>0.05). The proportion of Grade B in MMHD2 silicone oil group was higher than that in the air group (P<0.05). BCVA of each group after operation was better than that before operation, and there was no significant difference between air group and silicone oil group. While among them, MMHD1 air group was better than silicone oil group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between MMHD2 air group and silicone oil group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

For smaller IMH (≤400 µm), the efficacy of vitrectomy combined with air should be considered better than silicone oil; for larger IMH (>400 µm), the efficacy of silicone oil may be better than air.