Virtual retinectomy: indocyanine green-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling as a surgical adjunct in repair of recurrent rhegmatogenous retinal detachment due to PVR.

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate a surgical approach, known as internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling, as an adjunct to repair of recurrent retinal detachment due to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR).

Methods: This was a retrospective case series. All eyes underwent repair of recurrent PVR-related rhegmatogenous retinal detachment incorporating macular indocyanine green-assisted ILM peeling. Patients with primary detachments, diabetes, staphyloma, or macular holes were excluded. The main outcome measure was the anatomic success of single surgery. The characteristics of the group were studied, including the number and types of previous detachment repair attempts, as well as the subsequent surgeries.

Results: Fourteen eyes from 14 patients were included. Anatomic success with single surgery was achieved in 11 of 14 (79%) of the operated eyes using this technique, and eventual success was achieved in all eyes (100%). Among the failed repairs prior to ILM peeling, 8/14 eyes had scleral buckles, 7/14 had silicone oil tamponade, and two had inferior retinectomies. There was no subsequent development of epiretinal membranes after ILM peeling.

Conclusion: ILM peeling in conjunction with vitrectomy and peeling of peripheral membranes is an effective technique with a high anatomic success rate in the challenging scenario of PVR-related recurrent detachments. We describe the technique as an alternative to the traditional retinectomy.