Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:549-551
( May )
Scientific correspondence
Peripheral visual field defects after macular hole surgery: a
complication with decreasing incidence
Carolin A Gass, Christos Haritoglou, Elisabeth M Messmer, Markus Schaumberger, Anselm Kampik
Department of
Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians- University, Mathildenstrasse 8, D-80336 Munich, Germany
Correspondence to: Carolin A Gass
carolin.gass{at}ak-i.med.uni-muenchen.de
or Anselm Kampik
akampik{at}ak-i.med.uni-muenchen.de
Accepted for publication 14 December 2000
AIM
To prospectively
evaluate peripheral visual fields after vitrectomy for idiopathic
macular holes.
METHODSGoldmann
perimetry was performed in 105 patients before, as well as 6 weeks and
12 months after macular hole surgery.
RESULTSOnly one
patient (<1%) with a stage III macular hole developed an asymptomatic
postoperative visual field defect. The scotoma was wedge-shaped,
peripherally located in the temporal quadrant, and remained unchanged
during the following 12 months.
CONCLUSIONPeripheral
visual field defects after macular hole surgery can be a complication
of very low incidence. A rather low pressure set during air-fluid
exchange as well as special aspects of the surgical technique may be
responsible for this low incidence of peripheral visual field defects.
© 2001 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
