Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the results of vitrectomy in patients with vitreous hemorrhage associated with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Methods: :
Consecutive cases that underwent pars plana vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage associated with ARMD from January 2004 to June 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical findings including visual acuity, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography were investigated.
Results: :
Twenty eyes of 19 patients were included in the study. Thirteen were men and average age was 67.2.Mean duration from onset of vitreous hemorrhage to operations was 3.0 months. Earlier vitrectomy than 3 months after onset of the hemorrhage was related with better postoperative visual acuity (p<0.001).Mean visual acuity improved significantly from logMAR 2.87 to 1.75 at 2 months after operation (p<0.001). Ten eyes of 9 patients diagnosed to have PCV by fundus findings and/or angiography pre- or postoperatively showed significant better visual outcomes (logMAR 1.01) than the other group (logMAR 2.48, p=0.001). Fives eyes (25%) had postoperative visual acuity of 20/200 or better and they were all in the PCV group.Photodynamic therapy or intravitreal Avastin injections were required for active choroidal neovascularization or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in 9 eyes during the follow-up of 15 months in average. The final visual acuity was logMAR 1.85.
Conclusions: :
The earlier operations and the presence of PCV were related with better functional outcomes. It would result from less extensive subretinal fibrosis.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • vitreoretinal surgery • retina