Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the changes in the thickness of the ganglion cell complex (GCC) and the relationship between the GCC thickness and the BCVA and retinal sensitivity before and after internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling during idiopathic macular hole (MH) surgery.
Methods: :
Twenty-one eyes of 21 consecutive idiopathic MH cases treated during January through May 2011 were studied. Vitrectomy was performed with a 23G system and 0.25 mg/ml of Brilliant Blue G (BBG; ILM blue ®, DORC) was used to make the ILM more visible. The crystalline lens was removed and room air was used as a tamponade. The thickness of the GCC was measured by SD-OCT at the baseline and at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the MP-1 determined retinal sensitivity were also determined. Twenty-eight eyes of 28 cases treated under the same conditions but using indocyanine green (ICG, 0.125%) were studied as controls.
Results: :
The mean age of the subject and estimated duration from onset were not significantly different in the two groups. The average BCVA improved more significantly from 0.78 ± 0.42 logMAR units to 0.25 ± 0.35 logMAR units in the BBG group than the 0.82 ± 0.31 logMAR units to 0.37 ± 0.27 logMAR units in the ICG group at 6 months (P=0.025). The thickness of the GCC was reduced from 98.4 ± 18.2 to 87.4 ± 9.7 µm in the BBG group and from 95.5 ± 6.5 to 83.5 ± 9.9 µm in the ICG group (P=0.532). The mean retinal sensitivity in the central 10 degrees was 14.5 ± 4.4 dB in the BBG group and 14.7 ± 3.0 dB in the ICG group at 6 months (P=0.468).
Conclusions: :
These data show that the GCC thickness was reduced in both groups, and the GCC thickness was not significantly different after BBG from that after ICG. The postoperative BCVA was better in eyes after BBG-assisted ILM peeling.
Keywords: macular holes • vitreoretinal surgery • retina