Comparison of internal limiting membrane peeling with and without staining for the treatment of macular hole

Objective To compare the efficacy of internal limiting membrane peeling with and without staining with indocyanine green(ICG) staining for idiopathic macular hole(IMH). Methods From June 2006 to June 2013, in our hospital, 36 eyes of 36 cases with IMH who underwent vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane dissection were retrospectively analyzed.They were randomly divided into 2 groups: Group A(19 eyes of 19 cases, do not staining) and Group B(17 eyes of 17 cases, 0.5% ICG staining). The conditions of internal limiting membrane peeling, hole healing, postoperative best corrected visual acuity and visual changes between two groups were compared. Results ICG can effectively make the internal limiting membrane coloring. The internal limiting membrane peeling was not completely beside the hole of one case in unstaining group, and the remaining cases the membrane were completely stripped; The internal limiting membrane peeling time was (8.3±1.2) min in unstaining group and was (6.1±0.83) min in ICG staining group. The difference was statistically significant. Between two groups the difference was no statistically significant (P>0.05) in the hole closure rate, best corrected visual acuity and extent of visual improvement. Conclusion Vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling can effectively close IMH and improve visual function. Intraoperative use of ICG dye can significantly improve the visibility of internal limiting membrane and efficiency of the internal limiting membrane peeling, but non-staining internal limiting membrane peeling should be used as far as possible because of toxiticy of ICG. Key words: Hole, macular, idiopathic; Vitrectomy; Peeling, internal limiting membrane; Staining, indocyanin green