Effects of Trans Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Fibrous Membrance in Chronic Uveitis

Jung, Jae In; Lee, Sung Chul; Kwon, Oh Woong

Abstract

The complications of peripheral or posterioruveitis, such as vitreous opacity, epiretinal membrance, and tractional retinal detachment may need vitreous surgery. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of transpars plana vitrectomy in the case of epiretinal membrance or tractional retinal detachment secondary to chronic uveitis.We included 23 eyes of 21 patients, and among them there was 16 eyes of epiretinal membrance and 7 eyes of tractional retinal detachment respectively. Improvement of vision, 2 lines or more in Anellen Chart, was noted in 10 eyes(63%) for epiretinal membrance and 2 eyes(29%) for tractional retinal detachment within post-operative 1 month. Final visual acuity decrease, compared with preoperative vision, was noted in 4 eyes(25%) for epiretinal membrance and 6 eyes(86%) for tractional retinal detachment with a mean follow-up of 34 months. The most common cause of visual acuity decrease was recurrent or persistent inflammation and resultant fibrous tissue proliferation, which became obvious within post-operative 3 months.Therefore, we`re able to conclude that the main cause of postoperative visual acuity decrease is persistent intraocular inflammation and fibrous change. So it is necessary to remove posterior hyaloid membrance actively and combine with medical treatment like corticosteroid therapy in order to control the inflammation even after vitreous surgery.