Effects of posterior scleral reinforcement in pathological myopia: a 3-year follow-up study.

Abstract

To assess the effects of posterior sclera reinforcement (PSR) in refractive outcomes, choroidal thickness (CT), and retinal thickness (RT) during a 3-year follow-up in eyes with pathological myopia. Thirty-eight eyes of 26 adults with pathological myopia who underwent PSR (the PSR group) and 30 eyes of 18 adults with matched age and myopia who did not receive PSR treatment (the control group) were followed up with measurements of axial length (AL), spherical equivalent (SE), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), CT, and RT at baseline, 1 and 3months, and 1, 2, and 3years postoperatively. Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and independent-samples t test. In the PSR group, AL, SE, BCVA, and CT were tending to be relatively stable and no statistically significant changes were found during the follow-up (all P > 0.05). In contrast, in the control group, compared with the measurements taken at baseline, AL, SE, BCVA, and CT altered gradually from 1month onward to 3years postoperatively. At 2-year and 3-year follow-ups, significant differences in AL, SE, BCVA, and CT were noted between the PSR group and the control group (all P < 0.05). RTs of the center subfield and the inner ring were equal to the baseline in the control group; however, RTs of the center subfield at 1year, 2years, and 3years postoperatively significantly slightly reduced compared with those at the baseline in the PSR group (all P < 0.05). The effects of PSR in restraining eyeball elongation, stabilizing vision, and strengthening the structure of posterior pole are more prominent 2years or more postoperatively compared with the natural progression of pathological myopia.