TEMPORARY AMNIOTIC MEMBRANE GRAFT PLACEMENT FOR TREATMENT OF REFRACTORY MACULAR HOLES

Purpose: To report two patient cases demonstrating the management of refractory macular holes through the application of temporary thin amniotic membrane grafts, followed by subsequent graft removal on achieving hole closure. Methods: Comprehensive chart and literature review was conducted using the PubMed database. Results: We describe two patients who underwent repeat pars plana vitrectomy for treatment of refractory macular holes. In both patients, the epiretinal placement of a thin amniotic membrane graft was done to achieve hole closure. After a period of retinal stabilization, the amniotic membranes were removed because of the healthy appearance of the outer retinal layers and the ellipsoid zone, ultimately resulting in an improved final visual acuity in both patients. Conclusion: This case series demonstrates a new approach of using a temporary amniotic membrane graft to close refractory macular holes. After graft removal, both patients reported enhanced visual acuity and subjective visual improvement, accompanied by the stable closure of macular holes on serial optical coherence tomography scans.