Postoperative Retinal Break After 25-gauge Transconjunctival Sutureless Vitrectomy: Report of Four Cases

Background: A 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy (TSV) has been reported effective. However, complications such as postoperative retinal detachment have been reported. In this study, we report four cases of retinal breaks found after 25-gauge TSV. In this study, we investigated factors contributing to occurrence of postoperative complications.

Methods: Seventy-five patients (75 eyes) underwent 25-gauge TSV surgery at Kanazawa University hospital between April 2004 and September 2005. Postoperative follow-up monitoring was done for at least 3 months. The surgical charts were reviewed.

Results: Retinal breaks not accompanied by retinal detachment were noted postoperatively in four patients. All four of these patients had preoperative idiopathic macular holes. In all cases, there was no vitreous traction around the retinal break and photo coagulation was performed. One eye with age-related macular degeneration developed intraoperative rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. No other complications were observed during the intraoperative and postoperative periods.

Conclusion: Upon performing 25-gauge TSV for macular hole repair, care should be taken to detect retinal breaks and retinal detachment intraoperatively and postoperatively.