Therapeutic pars plana vitrectomy for chronic uveitis

We investigated the efficacy of therapeutic vitrectomy for chronic intrinsic uveitis in 29 eyes of 25 patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy and could be followed for more than 6 months (average 2 years and 10 months) after surgery. Indications for vitrectomy include sarcoidosis (15 eyes of 12 patients), Behcet's disease (7 eyes of 6 patients), and uveitis of unknown etiology (7 eyes of 7 patients). Postoperative visual acuity was improved in 20 (68%) of the eyes and unchanged or improved in 27 (93%) of the eyes. Of 15 eyes in which the membrane was removed to reduce macular traction, postoperative vision was improved in 9 (60%) and unchanged or improved in 13 (87%). The results in this study suggest that therapeutic vitrectomy, performed during a period of remission, for chronic uveitis would improve the prognosis for vision, not only by removing the cloudy vitreous that prolongs inflammation, but also by removing the inflammatory membrane to reduce traction on the macula.