Clinical efficacy of vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane tamping on macular hole and retinal detachment in high myopia

Objective To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane (ILM) tamping on macular hole and retinal detachment (MHRD) in highly myopic eyes. Methods 23 patients (23 eyes) were retrospectively reviewed, who were diagnosed as MHRD through examination of the ocular fundus, optic coherence tomography (OCT) and B-mode ultrasonography. There were 5 males (5 eyes) and 18 females (18 eyes). The mean age was (62.35±8.28) years. The mean course of disease was 1.1 months. The logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 2.31±0.72. The mean axial length was (28.66±1.99) mm. All patients underwent 23G microincision vitrectomy. After vitreous gel and cortex were gently resected, the ILM around the edges of the macular hole was stained with indocyanine green, and was folded and pushed to fill the macular hole gently. Then silicone oil or C3F8 gas tamponade was applied in 18 eyes and 5 eyes, respectively. The silicone oil was removed after 3 months. The follow-up was 6 months. The BCVA, macular hole closure, retinal anatomical reattachment were retrospectively observed, and were used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the surgery. Results At the 6 months after surgery, the logMAR BCVA was improved to 1.13±0.38, the difference was significant (t=15.33, P=0.00). The postoperative macular hole closure rate and retinal anatomical reattachment rate were 100%. There were no ocular or systemic adverse events observed in all patients. Conclusion Vitrectomy combined with ILM tamping is an effective and safe treatment for the high myopic eyes with MHRD. Key words: Retinal perforations/surgery; Retinal detachment/surgery; Myopia, degenerative/complications; Vitreoretinal surgery