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Laser retinopexy lowers retinal detachment risk after macular hole surgery
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Prophylactic laser retinopexy reduced the incidence of retinal detachment after surgery to repair macular hole, according to a study.
“Laser applied posterior to vitreous base prevents development of a [rhegmatogenous retinal detachment] from new tears and furthermore acts as a barrier to stop the progression in cases of retinal detachment,” the study authors said.
The retrospective, consecutive chart review included 144 eyes that underwent macular hole surgery; 76 eyes underwent surgery with laser retinopexy and 68 eyes had surgery without laser intervention.
Mean patient age was 62 years in the laser treatment group and 64 years in the control group.
Patients underwent postoperative examinations at 1 day and 1, 3 and 12 months. After 1 year, demographic data, best corrected visual acuity, lens status and occurrence of retinal detachment were determined via chart review.
At 1 year, retinal detachment occurred in one eye (1.31%) in the laser retinopexy group and six eyes (8.82%) in the control group; the between-group difference was statistically significant (P = .04).
The macular hole closure rate was 98.68% in the laser retinopexy group and 88.23% in the control group (P = .026).
Mean Snellen visual acuity was 20/30 in the laser group and 20/50 in the control group.
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