Vitrectomy in patients with decreased visual acuity secondary to asteroid hyalosis.

Abstract

To evaluate the role of vitrectomy in patients with decreased visual acuity solely attributable to asteroid hyalosis. We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with asteroid hyalosis and identified those who underwent vitrectomy for symptomatic asteroid hyalosis alone. After vitrectomy, nine of 10 eyes (10 patients) had at least 1 line of improvement in nonstandardized best-corrected visual acuity. In one eye, vision was unchanged postoperatively. The average gain was 3.44 lines. A small percentage of patients with asteroid hyalosis have decreased visual acuity caused solely or primarily by the asteroid hyalosis. Vitrectomy in these patients may alleviate symptoms and improve visual acuity.