Long-term outcome of internal limiting membrane peeling with and without foveal sparing in myopic foveoschisis

Purpose: To compare between vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling over the whole macula and preservation of the epi-foveal internal limiting membrane in myopic foveoschisis. Patients and methods: A prospective controlled non- randomized comparative study included patients with myopic foveoschisis recruited between 2013 and 2017. Patients were allocated into two groups: group A included patients who underwent vitrectomy with complete macular internal limiting membrane peeling and group B included those who underwent preservation of the epi-foveal membrane. Pre- and postoperative best corrected visual acuity and macular optical coherence tomography were obtained and compared. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the preoperative baseline data. The difference between the two groups was insignificant as regard postoperative best corrected visual acuity (p = 0.18) and central foveal thickness (p =0.504). There was statistically significant improvement in final best corrected visual acuity within each group (p < 0.0001). Central foveal thickness significantly decreased postoperatively within each group (p < 0.001). No macular holes or other visual-threatening complications were recorded in either group. Conclusion: Vitrectomy with complete internal limiting membrane peeling resulted in comparable outcomes to those achieved with preservation of the epi-foveal membrane in treating cases with myopic foveoschisis. There was no statistically significant difference in final visual acuity between the two groups. No macular holes were recorded in either group.