Vitreoretinal Surgery in Uveitis: From Old to New Concepts - A Review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

The aim of this article is to do a comprehensive literature review about the current role of pars plana vitrectomy in uveitis and in its different structural complications such as cystoid macular edema, epiretinal membrane, macular hole, and retinal detachment.

Methods

This comprehensive literature review was performed based on a search on PubMed, BioMed Central, Science Open, and CORE databases, of relevant articles abording pars plana vitrectomy in uveitis

Discussion

Uveitis is a complex disease with multiple etiologies and pathogenic mechanisms. Therapeutic pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) may aid in uveitic structural complications such as cystoid macular edema, epiretinal membranes, macular hole, and retinal detachments even though some cases may present unpredictable visual outcomes. Diagnostic PPV with appropriate ancillary testing is also a valuable tool for the assessment and diagnosis of uveitis in a large proportion of patients.

Conclusion

Over the years, pars plana vitrectomy has undergone significant transformations since its invention nearly 5 decades ago, however, the quality of evidence in the literature regarding its use for uveitis has not improved in the same way. Even though some structural uveitis complications (as previously mentioned) may respond well to surgery, there is still a certain unpredictability regarding its visual outcomes. On the other hand, diagnostic vitrectomy with appropriate ancillary testing is also a valuable tool for the assessment and diagnosis of uveitis in a large proportion of patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Uveitis
• cystoid macular edema
• macular hole
• pars plana vitrectomy
• rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Disclosure statement

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Ethical approval

For this type of study (review article) formal consent is not required. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.