Visual Prognosis after ILM Peeling during Vitrectomy for Macula-sparing RRDs

What is it about?

ILM peeling has been reported to prevent ERM growth after vitrectomy to repair RRDs. Although its safety has been discussed in terms of various aspects including visual acuity, the visual prognosis after ILM peeling in eyes treated for macula-sparing RRD has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we assessed the visual prognosis after ILM peeling in eyes having no macular detachment before surgery, and confirmed that normal visual acuities were maintained at 6 months after surgery. ERM did not develop in any case treated with ILM peeling, while some cases treated without ILM peeling experienced symptomatic post-surgical ERM growth that led to statistically-significant visual loss even after successful ERM removal.

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Why is it important?

Macula-sparing RRD is a condition most suitable for evaluation of visual prognosis after ILM peeling because there is no preoperative morphological abnormality in the macula or visual loss. Moreover, visual prognosis after ILM peeling during vitrectomy for macula-sparing RRDs is essential for the evaluation of the validity of this procedure to be performed for prevention of post-surgical ERM growth. Our results confirmed that ILM peeling was not likely to cause visual disturbance at least for 6 months after RRD repair, with excellent effect to prevent ERM growth. These data support the validity and safety of ILM peeling even when applied on the morphologically normal macula.