Relationship of Postoperative Visual Acuity and Foveal Thickness
According to Preoperative Hole Size and Height during Macular Hole Surgery

Keimyung Medical Journal 2009;28(2):241-248.

Relationship of Postoperative Visual Acuity and Foveal Thickness According to Preoperative Hole Size and Height during Macular Hole Surgery

황반원공 수술시 술전 원공의 크기와 높이에 따른 술후시력 및 황반두께와의 연관성

문건; 김유철; 김광수

Abstract

This study was aimed to evaluate the role of a preoperative optical coherence tomography measurements in predicting the postoperative functional outcome in macular hole surgery. Fourteen eyes of 14 patients who underwent the vitrectomy for idiopathic stage 3 or 4 macular holes were enrolled in this study. The influence of the preoperative hole configuration on the postoperative visual acuity (VA) and foveal thickness were evaluated. By calculating the hole prognostic factor (HPF); the eyes with the HPF ≥ 0.8 or <0.8 were assigned as group 1 or group 2; respectively. HPF was defined as value of the sum of both arm lengths from both ends of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) level corresponding the thickened macula to the outer plexiform layer on the margin of a macular hole divided by the distance between both RPE points. In both group 1 and 2; postoperative VA was improved (p=0.017; P=0.018); and a difference of the improvement level of VA between the two groups was statistically significant (p=0.05). The postoperative foveal thickness in the group 1 was thicker than the group 2 by 32.15 ㎛ in average; however; it was not statistically significant. There was also no significant correlation between the postoperative VA and the postoperative foveal thickness or the symptom duration. This study demonstrated that the HPF would be a prognostic factor for postoperative visual outcome in macular hole surgery.

Key Words: Foveal thickness, Macular hole, Optical coherence tomography, Prognostic factor