title: There is no relation between the occurrence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy and the location of the donor site after transplantation of a free autologous retinal pigment epithelium-choroid graft.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A free autologous retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid graft can be harvested during transplantation surgery from a 6 or 12 o'clock site in the midperiphery. This study evaluated whether proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) occurs more frequently in patients with an inferior donor site retinotomy, which is not closed by the tamponade and is in contact with the hydrophilic, pro-inflammatory and fibrotic environment, than in patients with a superior donor site retinotomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort of 246 patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration treated with an RPE-choroid graft transplantation and a lighter-than-water, 5000 centistoke silicone oil endotamponade. The location of the donor site, the presence or absence of PVR development and the location of PVR were noted. The two-tailed Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-nine of 246 (15.9%) patients developed PVR, of whom 35 had a superior donor site and four an inferior donor site. Of the 209 patients without PVR, 155 had a superior donor site and 25 had an inferior one. For 27 patients, no donor site location was explicitly documented in the patient files. We found no difference between the groups with a superior or inferior donor site and the occurrence of PVR (p=0.8).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Shifting the inflammatory aqueous milieu away from the graft donor site does not prevent the occurrence of PVR.
authors.affiliation: The Rotterdam Ophthalmic Institute, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsThe Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsErasmus MC, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elsbeth J T
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: van Zeeburg
authors.forename: Kristel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maaijwee
authors.forename: Jan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: van Meurs
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002829:Choroid / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D015995:Prevalence; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000637:transplantation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018630:Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: age-related macular degeneration; donor site retinotomy; proliferative vitreoretinopathy; retinal pigment epithelium-choroid graft; translocation surgery