Abstract
Purpose::
To examine the long-term surgical results after vitrectomy for diabetic macular edema.
Methods::
We performed vitrectomy on 149 consecutive eyes with diabetic macular edema from January 1997 to October 2006. One hundred twenty one (121) eyes that we could follow more than 6 months after vitrectomy were enrolled for this study. There were 76 eyes of 59 men and 45 eyes of 36 women. Patients' age ranged from 39 to 78 years (average 63.6 years). We performed three-port vitrectomy and the membrane removal from the retina around the macula in all cases. Endophotocoagulation to the ora serrata was performed at the end of vitrectomy. No adjuvant was used in all cases. Pars plana lensectomy with intraocular lens implantation was performed simultaneously with vitrectomy on 59 eyes, and 17 eyes were pseudophakia. Follow-up periods ranged from 6 to 98 months (average 21.3 months).
Results::
In all cases, macular edema gradually decreased during the follow-up period and finally disappeared. The latest best-corrected visual acuity was improved in 55 eyes (45.5%) by at least 2 lines, remained unchanged in 61 eyes (50.4%), and 5 eyes (4.1%) had a decrease of vision postoperatively. Intra-operative complications were retinal hole in 10 eyes, corneal opacity in one eye. Post-operative complications were glaucoma in 5 eyes, and then 1 of 5 eyes was performed filtering surgery 4 years after vitrectomy. Totally, in 3 eyes of the cases were additional surgeries necessary.
Conclusions::
Vitrectomy is an effective procedure to reduce diabetic macular edema and could be preserved useful visual function.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications • diabetic retinopathy • vitreoretinal surgery