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Reducing time to surgery in patients affected by idiopathic full thickness macular holes

Eye volume 37, pages 3509–3510 (2023)Cite this article

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Idiopathic full thickness macular holes (iFTMH) are a common, and visually disabling condition. They result from age related changes in the vitreoretinal interface and are most prevalent in women in their 60 s where the 6 year incidence reaches 200 per 100,000, with 10% being bilateral [1]. If left untreated they result in visual acuity (VA) below the definition of blindness and typically less than 6/60. A large UK electronic records study showed it was the second most common indication for retinal surgery [2].

Vitrectomy surgery and intraocular gas tamponade is the current standard treatment and closes the hole in most cases, with a substantial improvement in vision by a mean of 3 lines of vision [3]. The level of vision after surgery is variable, and an important modifiable factor in visual recovery is the length of time for which the hole is present before surgery is performed [4]. This suggests that shortening the time between developing an iFTMH and having surgery could improve the overall results of surgery.

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Data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sunderland Eye Infirmary, NHS Trust, Sunderland, UK

    Raffaele Raimondi, Dina Ghazal & David H. Steel

Authors
  1. Raffaele Raimondi
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  2. Dina Ghazal
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  3. David H. Steel
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Contributions

Conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing RR, DHS, DG data curation.

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Correspondence to Raffaele Raimondi.

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Raimondi, R., Ghazal, D. & Steel, D.H. Reducing time to surgery in patients affected by idiopathic full thickness macular holes. Eye 37, 3509–3510 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02517-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02517-9

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