results of vitrectomy in idiopathic macular hole

purpose: to evaluate the visual and anatomical outcomes and complications of vitrectomy with or without removal of internal limiting membrane (ilm) in idiopathic macular hole (imh) at labbafinejad medical center, tehran-iran, 1993-2003. methods: hospital records of patients who had undergone vitrectomy for imh and completed 6 months of follow up were reviewed for demographic data and outcomes of surgery. results: the study was conducted on 30 eyes (46.7% right eyes) of 29 patients (69% female) with mean age of 65.2±5.6 years. mean duration of symptoms was 3.2±3.7 months (66.7% less than 6 months). preoperatively macular holes were in stages 2, 3, and 4 in 3.0%, 36.7%, and 33.3%, respectively. ilm removal was performed in 21 eyes (70%). mean visual acuity was 0.99±0.6 logmar preoperatively which reached to 0.87±0.39 logmar postoperatively (p=0.05). single operation anatomical success rate was 80% (24 eyes) and final success rate was 86.7% (26 eyes). retinal breaks developed in 3 eyes (10%) intraoperatively. ilm removal had no effect on increasing the rate of macular hole closure. conclusion: ilm removal has no significant role on closure of imh with less than 6 months of duration.