Better success of retinal reattachment with long-standing gas tamponade in highly myopic eyes

Background. To evaluate the efficacy of long-term gas tamponade after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for retinal detachment (RD) due to a macular hole (MH) in highly myopic eyes. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted at two institutions. The study included 25 highly myopic eyes with RD resulting from a MH. C3F8 gas tamponade was used in 13 eyes (C3F8 gas group), and SF6 gas tamponade was used in 12 eyes (SF6 gas group) following PPV. C3F8 gas has a longer half-life time in the vitreous cavity than SF6 gas. The main outcome measures were the anatomic reattachment rate and the visual acuity (VA). Follow-up periods were at least 24 months. Results. The anatomic reattachment rate and MH closure following the initial surgery were significantly higher in the C3F8 gas group (100%) than in the SF6 gas group (66.7%; P=0.039). The differences in the postoperative VAs were not significant both for all eyes and only for eyes with initial anatomic success. (P=0.42 and P=0.54, respectively). In addition, no significant difference was found in the improvement of VA both for all eyes and for the initial success eyes (P=0.66 and P=0.56, respectively). Conclusion. We conclude that the longer duration of tamponade with C3F8 gas results in a higher rate of successful closure and that C3F8 gas tamponade is an effective treatment for MH with RD in highly myopic eyes.