Temporal Inverted Internal Limiting Membrane Flap Technique for the Treatment of Macular Holes

Objective: To determine the anatomic and functional outcomes of macular hole surgery with the temporal inverted flap technique. Methods: In this retrospective study, 9 eyes of 9 patients, who were treated with pars plana vitrectomy using the temporal inverted flap technique and had at least 6 months of postoperative follow-up were enrolled. Best-corrected visual acuity and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images were determined before and after surgery. Results: The primary disorders were idiopathic macular holes. The mean minimum macular hole diameter was 456.7 [+ or -] 150.0 [micro]m (221-622). In all patients, macular hole closure was performed successfully. The final U-shaped foveal contour type was achieved in 77.7% (7/9 eyes) of the patients and V-shape in 22.2% (2/9 eyes). None of the patients had W-shaped closures or fat/open-type contour. Mean best-corrected visual acuity increased from 1.47 [+ or -] 0.40 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution to 0.8 [+ or -] 0.41 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution at the last follow-up visit (P < .001). Conclusion: Temporal inverted flap technique may be an effective method for treating macular holes with different etiologies to minimize the microsurgical trauma. Further large-scale studies are required to assess the efficacy and safety of this technique. Keywords: Internal limiting membrane, inverted flap, macular hole, pars plana vitrectomy, temporal inverted flap