Blood-clump assisted procedure effective in repairing macular hole

A novel blood clump-assisted procedure safely and efficiently labels the posterior vitreous and coats the internal limiting membrane (ILM) for the reparation of macular hole (MH), states an investigation featured in Retina.

A team led by Dr Lai Chi-Chun, Department of Ophthalmology, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, enrolled 26 patients with MH. Each patient underwent ILM peeling and was administered a blood clump consisting of autologlous whole blood with 5% glucose water.

The solution was used to cover the ILM surface in the macular area. Forceps were used to extract the blood clump-coated ILM. The outcome measures included MH closure rate, preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity change and retinal changes.

In 24 eyes the MHs were closed by single surgery and 2 holes were closed after a second gas-fluid exchange. Preoperative and postoperative mean best-corrected visual acuities were 0.96 ± 0.3 and 0.38 ± 0.3, respectively.

Using the novel blood clump-assisted procedure enhanced the visibility of ILM and was proved to be safe and effective in repairing MH.