Introduction: A prospective study was performed in seven eyes of seven consecutive patients who had vitrectomy for diffuse diabetic macular edema (DME) with ILM premacular delamination as part of this treatment.
Patients and methods: All patients had retinopathy and DME. Only one patient had previous grid photocoagulation. In all eyes, there was no ophthalmoscopic evidence of traction from the posterior hyaloid membrane or proliferative tissue, but all patients had no posterior vitreous separation. A clinical examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed in preoperative and postoperative surgery (1 and 6 months). Pars plana vitrectomy with separation of the posterior hyaloid was performed in seven cases.
Results: Only three patients had vitreomacular traction observed on OCT. Statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease in retinal thickness 6 months after surgery. Best corrected visual acuity improved in four patients.
Conclusion: Vitreous surgery can improve the visual prognosis of some eyes with DME with or without posterior vitreous separation, whether combined or not with vitreomacular traction observed on OCT.