Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 2001 May;85(5):549–551. doi: 10.1136/bjo.85.5.549

Peripheral visual field defects after macular hole surgery: a complication with decreasing incidence

C Gass 1, C Haritoglou 1, E Messmer 1, M Schaumberger 1, A Kampik 1
PMCID: PMC1723948  PMID: 11316714

Abstract

AIM—To prospectively evaluate peripheral visual fields after vitrectomy for idiopathic macular holes.
METHODS—Goldmann perimetry was performed in 105 patients before, as well as 6 weeks and 12 months after macular hole surgery.
RESULTS—Only 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.
CONCLUSION—Peripheral 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.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (88.8 KB).

Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

Open in a new tab

(A) Preoperative and (B) postoperative Goldmann perimetry of the only patient developing visual field defect after macular hole surgery.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boldt H. C., Munden P. M., Folk J. C., Mehaffey M. G. Visual field defects after macular hole surgery. Am J Ophthalmol. 1996 Sep;122(3):371–381. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)72064-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bopp S., Lucke K., Hille U. Peripheral visual field loss after vitreous surgery for macular holes. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1997 Jun;235(6):362–371. doi: 10.1007/BF00937285. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cullinane A. B., Cleary P. E. Prevention of visual field defects after macular hole surgery. Br J Ophthalmol. 2000 Apr;84(4):372–377. doi: 10.1136/bjo.84.4.372. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ezra E., Arden G. B., Riordan-Eva P., Aylward G. W., Gregor Z. J. Visual field loss following vitrectomy for stage 2 and 3 macular holes. Br J Ophthalmol. 1996 Jun;80(6):519–525. doi: 10.1136/bjo.80.6.519. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gass J. D. Idiopathic senile macular hole. Its early stages and pathogenesis. Arch Ophthalmol. 1988 May;106(5):629–639. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1988.01060130683026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Heidenkummer H. P., Kampik A. Morphologische Analyse epiretinaler Membranen bei chirurgisch behandelten idiopathischen Makulaforamina. Licht-und elektronenmikroskopische Ergebnisse. Ophthalmologe. 1996 Dec;93(6):675–679. doi: 10.1007/s003470050057. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hutton W. L., Fuller D. G., Snyder W. B., Fellman R. L., Swanson W. H. Visual field defects after macular hole surgery. A new finding. Ophthalmology. 1996 Dec;103(12):2152–2159. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(96)30376-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kampik A. Macular holes--a diagnostic and therapeutic enigma? Br J Ophthalmol. 1998 Apr;82(4):338–338. doi: 10.1136/bjo.82.4.338. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kelly N. E., Wendel R. T. Vitreous surgery for idiopathic macular holes. Results of a pilot study. Arch Ophthalmol. 1991 May;109(5):654–659. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1991.01080050068031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kerrison J. B., Haller J. A., Elman M., Miller N. R. Visual field loss following vitreous surgery. Arch Ophthalmol. 1996 May;114(5):564–569. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1996.01100130556010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Liesenhoff O., Messmer E. M., Pulur A., Kampik A. Operative Behandlung durchgreifender Makulaforamina. Ophthalmologe. 1996 Dec;93(6):655–659. doi: 10.1007/s003470050053. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Melberg N. S., Thomas M. A. Visual field loss after pars plana vitrectomy with air/fluid exchange. Am J Ophthalmol. 1995 Sep;120(3):386–388. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)72169-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Messmer E. M., Heidenkummer H. P., Kampik A. Ultrastructure of epiretinal membranes associated with macular holes. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1998 Apr;236(4):248–254. doi: 10.1007/s004170050072. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Minckler D. S. The organization of nerve fiber bundles in the primate optic nerve head. Arch Ophthalmol. 1980 Sep;98(9):1630–1636. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1980.01020040482019. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Paques M., Massin P., Santiago P. Y., Spielmann A. C., Gaudric A. Visual field loss after vitrectomy for full-thickness macular holes. Am J Ophthalmol. 1997 Jul;124(1):88–94. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)71648-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pendergast S. D., McCuen B. W., 2nd Visual field loss after macular hole surgery. Ophthalmology. 1996 Jul;103(7):1069–1077. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(96)30565-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Radius R. L., Anderson D. R. The course of axons through the retina and optic nerve head. Arch Ophthalmol. 1979 Jun;97(6):1154–1158. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1979.01020010608021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Welch J. C. Dehydration injury as a possible cause of visual field defect after pars plana vitrectomy for macular hole. Am J Ophthalmol. 1997 Nov;124(5):698–699. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)70915-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wendel R. T., Patel A. C., Kelly N. E., Salzano T. C., Wells J. W., Novack G. D. Vitreous surgery for macular holes. Ophthalmology. 1993 Nov;100(11):1671–1676. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(93)31419-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Yan H., Dhurjon L., Chow D. R., Williams D., Chen J. C. Visual field defect after pars plana vitrectomy. Ophthalmology. 1998 Sep;105(9):1612–1616. doi: 10.1016/S0161-6420(98)99026-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES