Evaluation of the inner retinal layers following traditional and modified ILM peeling surgery using automatic CMDS quantification algorithm

Abstract

AbstractIdiopathic macular hole (IMH) is a vitreoretinal disease that causes severe visual impairment, and the pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with internal limiting membrane peeling (ILMP) is the traditional treatment for IMH. Since the dissociated optical nerve fiber layer (DONFL) is observed in the eyes after the surgery, a modified surgery is put forward to minimize the injury. However, the extent to which the modified surgery reduced damage is not clear. A novel automated image processing system was developed in this study to quantify the damage after the surgery, revealing how the modified surgery reduced the DONFL. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images and visual acuity were collected from 65 eyes that underwent a vitrectomy with traditional and modified ILM peeling procedure at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital preoperatively. We found that DONFL occurred in all 65 eyes of both the traditional and modified ILM peeling groups. The concentric macular dark spots (CMDS) were automatically measured by the image processing system. The mean total area of CMDS was smaller in the modified ILM peeling group (0.224 ± 0.110 mm2) than that of the traditional ILM peeling group (0.385 ± 0.237 mm2), and there is a significant difference between the two groups (p < .05). The morphological difference in the temporal quadrant of CMDS between the two surgery technology groups was significant (p < .001). This study will provide a clinical research basis for the improvement of macular hole surgery.