Abstract
Purpose:
To examine the factors associated with the postoperative reduction of macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness in patients with idiopathic macular hole (MH)
Methods:
This retrospective study reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent a MH surgery between 2010 and 2013 for the treatment of a unilateral MH. Forty-one subjects who achieved a closure of MH after single surgery and were followed up for more than 1 year were ultimately included. Macular GCIPL thickness was measured during follow-up by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Inter-ocular difference in macular GCIPL thickness was also evaluated.
Results:
The mean subject age was 63.1 ± 10.6 years. Internal limiting membrane peeling was done in all patients and cataract surgery was combined in 33 (81%) eyes. Mean preoperative macular GCIPL thickness in the parafoveal area was similar between eyes with MH and the fellow eyes, while GCIPL thickness in the central subfield was variable in the eyes with MH. Macular GCIPL was significantly thinner in the study eyes than in the fellow eyes at 3 months, at 6 months, and at 1 year, postoperatively (P <0.001 for all). The inter-ocular difference of GCIPL thickness at 1 year was associated with neither the use of ICG, the use of triamcinolone acetonide, nor combined cataract surgery (P = 0.679, P = 0.408, and P = 0.369, respectively). The inter-ocular difference of GCIPL thickness at 1 year was significantly associated with the preoperative size of MH (r = 0.401; P <0.001), but was not associated with other parameters such as age, diameter of hole base, or preoperative GCIPL thickness of the fellow eye.
Conclusions:
Macular GCIPL thickness was significantly thinner in eyes that underwent MH surgery compared with the fellow eyes without MH, and the reduction of GCIPL was correlated with the preoperative size of MH.