Macular Hole Reopening

Incidence and Factors Related to Macular Hole Reopening

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the incidence and the factors that cause a reopening of a macular hole (MH) after a surgical closure.

A reopening of a macular hole (MH) is a well-known complication of successfully closed MHs. Recently, internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling has become widely used as an adjunctive procedure during MH surgery. The incidence of a reopening of a MH is 0 to 8.6% in eyes in which the ILM was peeled off, and 2 to 16% in which the ILM was not peeled off. Part of the variation in the percentages of reopening was the length of the follow-up period; eyes with longer follow-up periods have higher incidences of reopening.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients who underwent vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling for an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole

Exclusion Criteria:

• eyes with previous vitreous surgery, cystoid macular edema from any cause, and traumatically-induced MH were excluded.