POSTOPERATIVE POSTERIOR RETINAL HOLES AFTER PARS-PLANA VITRECTOMY FORPRIMARY RETINAL-DETACHMENT

Background: Although retinal breaks occur frequently during vitrectomy , the postoperative occurrence of new retinal holes close to the vascu lar arcade after vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment rare ly has been reported. Methods: Three patients with rhegmatogenous reti nal detachment were treated by vitrectomy. More than 49 days after vit rectomy, posterior retinal holes with no retinal detachment occurred h alfway between the vascular arcade and the chorioretinal scar around t he extrusion hole or the primary retinal tear. Results: These new hole s were effectively managed with photocoagulation. Conclusion: New hole formation could be caused by the technique of the internal drainage, the contraction of the photocoagulation scar, or epiretinal membrane c ontraction. Another possibility is that new holes occur through two op posite tangential traction contractile forces: one induced by the cont raction of the photocoagulation scar, the other caused by the contract ion of the premacular cortical vitreous attached to the vascular arcad e.