Effects of Indocyanine Green Staining on the Recovery of Visual Acuity and Macular Morphology after Macular Hole Surgery

Purpose: To evaluate whether indocyanine green (ICG)-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling affects visual outcome and macular morphologic changes in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images after macular hole (MH) surgery. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of 34 eyes in 34 patients who had undergone surgical treatment for MH. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography parameters including central foveal thickness, length of the external limiting membrane (ELM) defect, and length of the inner segment and outer segment (IS/OS) defect were analyzed pre- and postoperatively. Results: The eyes were divided into 2 groups based on ICG use (ICG+/-). The changes in BCVA did not differ significantly between the 2 groups at 6 months. However, the ICG+ group had poorer changes compared with the ICG- group at 1 and 3 months (p = 0.038, p = 0.012, respectively). Central foveal thickness and ELM defect did not differ between the 2 groups at each period. The IS/OS defect in the ICG+ group was significantly greater at 1 and 3 months than that in the ICG- group (p = 0.026, p = 0.048, respectively). Conclusions: ICG staining may affect the recovery process of macular morphology and visual acuity in the first several months after MH surgery.