Outcomes of a new 3-D printing-assisted personalized macular buckle combined with para plana vitrectomy for myopic foveoschisis

Purpose To describe and evaluate the application of a new 3-D printing-assisted personalized macular buckle for patients with myopic foveoschisis (MFS). Methods Twelve eyes of 12 patients with MFS were included in this study. Preoperative MRI images were subsequently measured after marker implantation and imported into the MIMICS software for the 3-D reconstruction of a virtual model of an eyeball and a marker. The virtual eyeball model was designed according to the degree of retinoschisis, which was measured using optical coherence tomography preoperatively. A macular buckle was designed using a titanium stent, assisted by 3-D printing; furthermore, it was surgically placed in combination with pars plana vitrectomy. Visual acuity, axial length and anatomic outcomes were analysed pre- and postoperatively. Results Macular schisis in all patients was completely resolved after the surgery without any postoperative complications. The mean postoperative best corrected visual acuity (LogMAR) improved significantly from 1.21 to 0.92 during the 6-month follow-up period (p < 0.001) and reached 0.9 (p < 0.001) after 2 years. The axial length was significantly shortened during the 2 years postoperatively follow-up period (p < 0.01). The average axial lengths in all patients decreased from 30.62 mm preoperatively to 29.81 mm 1 month postoperatively and remained around 30.16 mm from 1 year after the surgery. Conclusion The 3-D printing technique is useful to predict the indentation height and position of the macular buckle. The 3D-printing-assisted macular buckle, in combination with vitrectomy, is an effective, safe and accurate treatment modality for MFS.