The hole closure rate of swept-source optical coherence tomography-guided facedown positioning for macular hole surgery

Objective To observe the hole closure rate of swept-source optical coherence tomography(SS-OCT)-guided facedown positioning for idiopathic macular hole (IMH) surgery. Methods A retrospective case series of 64 eyes of 64 patients affected with IMH. All the patients underwent a 25G pars plana vitrectomy(PPV) with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and intraocular perfluoropropane (C3F8) tamponade. In 35 eyes of 35 patients, the facedown positioning was halted after detecting an hole closure through intraocular gas in the SS-OCT images at the early period after surgery (the SS-OCT group). In 29 eyes of 29 patients, the facedown positioning was halted atter detecting an hole closure in the SS-OCT images when the macular zone was uncovered by intraocular gas (the control group). The follow-up was ranged from 6 to 11 months, with the mean follow-up time was 8.4 months. The hole closure rate at 6 months after surgery were compared between two groups by two independent sample Wilcoxon rank sum test. The duration of the facedown positioning and complications were compared between two groups. Results The period of facedown position was (1.67±1.28) and (7.65±1.42) days in the SS-OCT group and control group, respectively. The difference of the period of facedown position between the two groups was significant (Z=−6.784, P 0.05). There was no ocular serious side effect during the follow up, such as leakage of sclera incision, retinal hemorrhage, choroidal hemorrhage and endophthalmitis. In the control group, there were two patients with mild dizziness who underwent symptomatic treatment. There was no systemic side effect during the follow-up in the SS-OCT group. Conclusion Confirming with SS-OCT imaging early closure of macular hole of IMH patients with gas tamponade can serve as an important guide to significantly shorten the period of facedown positioning, while achieved a high hole closure rate. Key words: Tomography, optical coherence; Vitreoretinal surgery; Retinal perforations/surgery