Since the first reports on surgical repair of macular holes, postoperative face-down posturing (FDP) has been part of the management regime. However, prone positioning is unpleasant for patients, and has adverse effects. Over the last decade some vitreoretinal surgeons have reduced the duration of FDP, or even abandoned it altogether. There have been few non-randomised, and even fewer randomised trials addressing this controversy. With high success rates for macular hole surgery and multiple different surgical strategies such as internal limiting membrane peeling, combining macular hole and cataract surgery, and different durations of gas tamponade, analysing the effects of individual factors is difficult. This paper discusses the mechanisms of surgical repair as well as the role of postoperative FDP, and reviews the studies that have attempted to determine its effect on the success of macular hole surgery.
Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.