AUTOLOGOUS RETINAL TRANSPLANTATION AS A PRIMARY TREATMENT FOR LARGE CHRONIC MACULAR HOLES. Issue 10 (October 2020) - Tanaka, Shin
Abstract : Purpose: To report the outcomes of autologous neurosensory retinal transplant as a primary treatment for patients with large chronic macular holes and evaluate the safety and feasibility of the procedure. Design: Retrospective study, consecutive case series. Methods: We reviewed seven patients with a primary chronic large macular hole, who underwent autologous neurosensory retinal transplant. Mean preoperative minimum and maximum hole diameters were 643 µ m and 1214 µ m, respectively. Changes in visual acuity were measured postsurgery, and optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and microperimetry-3 were analyzed after the procedure. Results: Closure of the macular hole was achieved in all seven eyes in the study. At 1 year post-surgery, there was significant improvement in mean visual acuity (LogMAR 1.10 vs. 0.68, P = 0.001). Optical coherence tomography showed that all grafts had formed attachments to the retinal epithelial cells of the recipient retina. Mean preoperative ellipsoid zone defect was 1, 089 ± 403.8 µ m (range, 918–1, 329 µ m) which further decreased to 921 ± 129.1 µ m (range, 670–1, 201 µ m) at final follow up ( P = 0.09). Microperimetry-3 testing indicated retinal sensitivity in the graft in five eyes. Conclusion: Autologous retinal transplantation may help rebuild the macular structure resulting in functional improvement for eyes with primary chronic large macular hole. Abstract : Autologous retinal transplantation may be useful as a treatment for primary chronic large macular hole, resulting in functional improvement.