Combined retinal massage and autologous blood covering for persistent macular holes after vitrectomy in high myopia

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of retinal massage combined with autologous blood covering in the treatment of persistent macular holes following vitrectomy in eyes with high myopia. Settings and Design: Retrospective, consecutive case series in a tertiary eye center. Methods: A total of 12 highly myopic eyes with persistent macular holes after vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling received combined retinal massage, air/fluid exchange, autologous blood covering, and gas/silicone oil tamponade. Best-corrected visual acuity, axial length, and optical coherence tomographic images before and after the treatment were compared. Results: The mean hole diameter before this intervention was 931.58 +/- 244.58 mu m (range, 508-1270), and the axial length was 30.39 +/- 2.13 mm (range, 27.08-34.64). During the 6-month follow-up period, hole closure was achieved in eight eyes (66.67%). The mean best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly from 1.40 +/- 0.50 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) at baseline to 1.10 +/- 0.30 logMAR (P < 0.05). No complications were observed. Conclusions: Combined retinal massage and autologous blood covering, which is easy to manipulate, can promote the closure of persistent macular holes after vitrectomy and improve vision in high myopia with an axial length less than 29 mm.