2015 Volume 43 Issue 3 Pages 163-170
Purpose: To investigate the changes in foveal macular thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with diabetic macular edema and to investigate the role of pars plana vitrectomy.
Methods: This study included a total of 24 eyes of 22 patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy for diabetic macular edema at our hospital from June 2009 to December 2011 and subsequent follow-up examinations for at least 6 months. The patients’ eyes were divided into three groups: those with cystoid macular edema (7 eyes), those with concomitant serous retinal detachment (7 eyes), and those with concomitant epiretinal membrane (10 eyes). OCT was used to investigate the structural changes in diabetic macular edema.
Results: Foveal macular thickness in the cystoid macular edema group was 640 ± 189 µm preoperatively and 319 ± 122 µm at 6 months postoperatively. In this group, macular edema had improved (foveal macular thickness <250 µm) in three cases (42%) and residual cystoid macular edema had not completely disappeared from all cases (0%), as evaluated at 6 months postoperatively.
Foveal macular thickness in the serous retinal detachment concomitant group was 583 ± 230 µm preoperatively and 348 ± 164 µm at 6 months postoperatively. Macular edema had improved in three cases (42%), cystoid macular edema had disappeared in three cases (42%), and serous retinal detachment had disappeared in all cases (100%) at 6 months postoperatively.
Foveal macular thickness in the epiretinal membrane concomitant group was 559 ± 80 µm preoperatively and 263 ± 82 µm at 6 months postoperatively. Macular edema had improved in seven cases (70%) and cystoid macular edema had disappeared in seven cases (70%) at 6 months postoperatively.
Conclusions: The results suggest that pars plana vitrectomy is effective for serous retinal detachment, which is generally considered to be difficult to treat with ranibizumab therapy. The majority of the eyes in the epiretinal membrane concomitant group exhibited successful improvement in foveal macular thickness by pars plana vitrectomy.
