Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine visual outcomes of pars plana vitrectomy surgery for vitreous hemorrhages based on underlying etiology and duration of hemorrhage.
Methods: :
This was a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy for non clearing vitreous hemorrhage at the University of Chicago since August 2005. All surgeries were done by a single surgeon (S.H.). All eyes had at least one month of follow up after surgery. Visual outcomes were categorized according to underlying etiology as well as duration of vitreous hemorrhage.
Results: :
Outcomes from surgery on 38 eyes in 32 patients were examined. Overall, the mean duration of vitreous hemorrhage was 3.8 months, with a range between 5 days and 15 months. The mean improvement in visual acuity was 3.2 lines. There was no correlation between duration of vitreous hemorrhage and number of lines of visual acuity gained (correlation coefficient 0.03). Underlying etiologies of vitreous hemorrhages included proliferative diabetic retinopathy, sickle cell retinopathy, retinal tear, branch retinal vein occlusion, hemiretinal vein occlusion, branch retinal artery occlusion, choroidal rupture, subretinal neovascularization with subretinal hemorrhage, and valsalva retinoopathy. Only 2 of 38 eyes ended up with no light perception.
Conclusions: :
Modern pars plana vitrectomy surgery for vitreous hemorrhage has a favorable visual outcome. We found no correlation between the duration of vitreous hemorrhage and recovery of vision after surgery. Our study also suggests that patients who undergo vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage due to non-diabetic etiologies can do well as long as there are no other serious comorbid conditions.
Keywords: vitreoretinal surgery • diabetic retinopathy