Long term result of silicone oil versus gas tamponade in the treatment of traumatic macular holes

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with either silicone oil or gas tamponade for the treatment of traumatic macular holes. Methods: A retrospective comparative study included 22 patients who were operated on by PPV for repair of traumatic macular holes with either silicone oil tamponade (nine patients) or perfluoropropane (C 3F 8) gas tamponade (13 patients). Results: Twenty-two cases were reviewed to assess the anatomical and visual outcomes of surgery with silicone oil tamponade in nine cases (40.9%) vs 14% C 3F 8 gas tamponade in 13 cases (59.1%). The age of the silicone oil-treated patients ranged from 10 to 40 years (mean 27.4 ± 11.3 years), while that of the gas-treated patients ranged from 19 to 35 years (mean 26.54 ± 5.68 years). Female patients accounted for 33.3% of the silicone oil group and 30.77% of the gas-treated group. The minimal follow-up time for the silicone oil-treated group was 13 months, with a maximum of 18 months after silicone oil removal. The minimal follow-up time for the gas-treated group was 12 months and the maximum was 24 months. The rate of hole closure after the primary operation with oil tamponade was significantly lower than that with gas tamponade (66.67% vs 92.3%; P = 0.022). With re-operations, the final rate of hole closure was higher in the gas group (100%) than in the silicone oil group (77.8%). The final postoperative decimal visual acuity for the gas group was significantly better than for the oil group (0.433 vs 0.245; P = 0.047). Conclusions: C 3F 8 gas was a more effective tamponade than silicone oil in achieving initial closure of traumatic macular holes. Eyes receiving an oil tamponade required significantly more re-operations to achieve hole closure than did eyes undergoing a gas tamponade. Final visual acuity was better for gas-treated eyes than for silicone oil-treated eyes. © 2012 Ghoraba et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.