Revisiting transconjunctival sutureless 25-gauge vitrectomy: still worthwhile?
To present the outcomes of various retinal conditions treated with the sutureless 25-gauge (25G) vitrectomy technique. Retrospective case review of 232 eyes of 228 patients who underwent 25G vitrectomy from January 2003 to August 2006. Follow-up was a minimum of 3 months. Indications for surgery included idiopathic macular hole, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, epiretinal membrane and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Main outcome measures included final visual acuity, re-operation rate and surgical complications such as endophthalmitis, hypotony and retinal (re)detachment. For all cases, the mean overall visual acuity (logMAR) improved from 0.9 preoperatively to 0.5 (P < 0.0001). The improvement in acuity was highest in the rhegmatogenous detachment and diabetic groups. Transient postoperative hypotony was observed in 15 cases (9.2%) on day 1 after surgery but all these cases resolved. In 7.3% of the cases (17 out of 232) additional surgery was performed due to retina (re)detachment but final anatomic success was achieved in all cases; the detachments occurred within the first 3 months. One patients developed endophthalmitis (0.4%) which coincided with subconjunctival antibiotics being discontinued in favour of topical treatment. The 25G system remains a safe and effective technique for a variety of retinal conditions; significant fast visual rehabilitation is an advantage.
Sandinha
Teresa
T
Vitreo-Retina Service, Flinders Eye Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. teresa_sandinha@robinsonlloyd.com
de Souza
Clairton
C
Essex
Rohan
R
Kelly
Theresa-Lan
TL
Lake
Stewart
S
Phillips
Russell
R
D003228:Conjunctiva; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012086:Reoperation; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000379:methods*