Purpose: To evaluate the anatomic closure rate and visual outcome in patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling with and without indocyanine green (ICG) enhancement.
Design: Retrospective, noncomparative interventional case series.
Participants: One hundred ninety-three consecutive patients (204 eyes) seen at the Barnes Retina Institute with the clinical diagnosis of macular hole who underwent PPV between January 1998 and December 2000.
Intervention: A consecutive series of 97 patients undergoing PPV with or without unilateral epiretinal membrane removal without ILM peeling (group 1), 44 patients with PPV and ILM peeling without ICG (group 2), and 35 patients with ICG-assisted ILM peeling (group 3).
Results: Overall, 86.4% of the holes closed with one operation, with 75 of 97 (77.3%) eyes in group 1, 43 of 44 (97.7%) eyes in group 2, and 34 of 35 (97.1%) eyes in group 3 (chi(2)= 10.51, P = 0.007). Of the eyes that did not close, 18 patients in group 1 underwent repeat surgery, with 90 of 97 (92.8%) eyes ultimately achieving closure. Visual acuity after surgery was 20/50 or better in 55 of 97 (56.7%) patients, 31 of 44 (70.4%) patients, and 18 of 35 (51.4%) patients in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (chi(2) = 3.43, P = 0.18) and increased by 2 or more lines from their preoperative status in 63 of 97 (64.9%) patients, 34 of 44 (77.3%) patients, and 25 of 35 (71.4%) patients, respectively (chi(2)= 2.25, P = 0.32). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that use of ILM peeling during vitrectomy increases the chances of developing 20/50 vision or better (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-5.45; P = 0.04). No eyes received concurrent cataract extraction with macular hole surgery, but 75 of 166 (45.2%) required cataract extraction postoperatively. Complications included 20 retinal tears, 4 retinal detachments, and 34 patients with postoperative elevations in intraocular pressure (IOP; defined as IOP greater than 30 mmHg).
Conclusions: Although this study is limited by the shorter follow-up in patients undergoing ILM peeling with or without ICG relative to the control group, our experience indicates that the use of ILM peeling is associated with a statistically significant improvement in the rate of primary macular hole closure with a single operation.