Vitrectomy for lamellar macular hole may not require air tamponade

Air tamponade may not be necessary to improve vision in eyes with lamellar macular hole that undergo vitrectomy, according to a study.

The retrospective study included 41 eyes of 39 patients who underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy with air tamponade (23 eyes) or without air tamponade (18 eyes).

Average baseline logMAR best corrected visual acuity was 0.26 in the tamponade group and 0.35 in the no tamponade group.

OCT was used to confirm the presence of a lamellar macular hole before and after surgery. Standard three-port vitrectomy was performed in all cases.

At 6 months, postoperative BCVA was 0.12 in the tamponade group and 0.14 in the no tamponade group. BCVA improved significantly in both groups (P = .023 in the tamponade group and P < .001 in the no tamponade group).

BCVA was similar in both groups before and after surgery.

Relationships between BCVA and hole diameter and foveal thickness of the lamellar macular hole were insignificant.

No cases of postoperative full-thickness macular hole were identified in either group. – by Matt Hasson

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.