Objective: To evaluate the frequency and prognosis of reopening of a m
acular hole after initially successful repair in a defined patient coh
ort. Design: Retrospective consecutive noncomparative case series. Par
ticipants: Seventeen cases of reopened macular holes among 390 cases o
f idiopathic: macular holes that previously had undergone macular hole
surgery were studied. Main Outcome Measures: Assessment of demographi
cs, visual acuity, preoperatively, postoperatively, after reopening of
macular hole and after reoperation, if applicable, and precipitating
factors. Results: There were 17 (4.8%) of 353 cases in which the macul
ar hole reopened after initial successful surgical closure. The mean v
isual acuity before reopening was 10/48 and was 20/133 after reopening
. Twelve eyes underwent reoperation with improvement to a mean visual
acuity of 20/54, The five eyes that were not reoperated on maintained
a mean visual acuity of 20/200, Ten of the eyes had undergone cataract
surgery between macular hole surgeries, but in only one did the reope
ning appear to occur in association with this procedure. Conclusions:
Reopening of a previously successfully operated macular hole is uncomm
on and seems to be a spontaneous event. Reoperation generally yields r
esults similar to those present before the reopening. Reopening of a m
acular hole associated with cataract surgery is rare.