title: Long-term surgical outcomes after vitrectomy for symptomatic lamellar macular holes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine long-term surgical findings and outcomes after vitrectomy for symptomatic lamellar macular holes.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective, consecutive, interventional case series. Sixteen patients (31 eyes) with lamellar macular holes and central visual loss participated in the study. All patients underwent 3-port pars plana vitrectomy with membranectomy and/or internal limiting membrane peeling and gas tamponade under the care of one author. Best-corrected visual acuity and optical coherence tomography appearance were determined preoperatively and postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Final visual acuity improved more than 2 lines postoperatively in 18 eyes (58.1%) and decreased in 2 eyes (6.5%) leading to a mean gain of 0.18 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity during the mean follow-up period of 39 ± 24 months (12-85 months). Twenty-eight eyes (90.3%) improved or normalized in foveal appearance on postoperative optical coherence tomography images of the macula, 1 eye remained unchanged, and 1 eye (3.2%) had chronic cystoid macular edema, 1 eye was unchanged, and 1 eye showed recurrence of lamellar macular hole.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with central visual loss from lamellar macular holes, vitrectomy, membranectomy, and/or internal limiting membrane peeling and gas tamponade appear to have a beneficial effect for a mean of 3 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Seoul, Korea. wismile@unitel.co.kr
authors.forename: Sung J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Darachui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Kyung S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Gi Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000601:surgery; D058450:Endotamponade; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012167:Retinal Perforations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014821:Vitrectomy