Retinal displacement and intraretinal structural changes after idiopathic macular hole surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the correlations of thickness of three retinal layers with retinal displacement after idiopathic macular hole surgery.

Study design: Retrospective, consecutive, case series.

Methods: 42 eyes of 42 patients undergoing macular hole surgery with internal limiting membrane peeling were studied. Retinal distance was measured with near-infrared images between the optic nerve and the intersection of retinal vessels at four quadrants. Retinal thicknesses of inner retinal layer, inner nuclear layer and outer retinal layer were measured 1000 μm away from the central fovea using Spectralis.

Results: Retinal distances other than the nasal quadrant decreased postoperatively (p < 0.001). Retinal displacement (%) correlated significantly with the change in inner nuclear layer thickness in the temporal sector at 1, 3, and 6 months, in the superior sector at 2 weeks, 1, and 6 months, and in the inferior sector at 3 and 6 months postoperatively (r = 0.319-0.570, p < 0.001-0.040), but not in the inner or outer retinal layers.

Conclusion: Internal limiting membrane peeling for macular hole enhances retinal displacement toward the optic disc, whose distances correlate with the changes in inner nuclear layer thickness.

Keywords: Case series study; Idiopathic macular hole; Inner nuclear layer; Internal limiting membrane peeling; Retinal displacement.