One-year outcome of retinal displacement after internal limiting membrane peeling for macular hole

PURPOSE: To investigate long-term outcome of retinal displacement for 1 year after idiopathic macular hole (MH) surgery with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and evaluate its association with basal MH size. METHODS: This retrospective study included seventy eyes of 70 consecutive patients undergoing MH surgery with ILM peeling. Retinal distance from the temporal edge of optic disc to the intersection or bifurcation points of retinal vessels was quantified using near-infrared images. Rates of change in retinal distance were calculated as retinal displacement (%RD). The basal and minimum diameters of the MHs were measured using Spectralis. RESULTS: The average retinal distance in the nasal sector did not change in the early postoperative period but decreased significantly at 6 months and 1 year (P < 0.001). In other sectors, retinal distance continued decreasing for 1 year (P < 0.001). %RD in the nasal sector was smaller than that in the temporal, superior, and inferior sectors at 12 months (all P < 0.001). %RD in the superior sector was larger than in the inferior sector (P = 0.011). Correlations of temporal %RD with horizontal and vertical basal MH diameters appeared at 1 month (rs = -0.301, P= 0.011 and rs = -0.277, P = 0.020) and were more evident at 1 year (rs= -0.565 and -0.512, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Retina surrounding MH keeps moving asymmetrically toward the optic disc for 1 year. Movement of temporal retina after ILM peeling may play an important role in the successful closure of MH.