{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.030860144451739988, 'fraction_numerical': 0.04990151017728168, 'mean_word_length': 5.120481927710843, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
INCIDENCE OF IATROGENIC PERIPHERAL RETINAL BREAKS IN 23-GAUGE VITRECTOMY FOR MACULAR DISEASES

Purpose: To assess the incidence of iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks in 23-gauge vitrectomy for macular diseases and to compare it with 20-gauge vitrectomy. Methods: Retrospective, comparative, interventional case series. We compared the incidence of iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks in 176 eyes undergoing 23-gauge vitrectomy between January 2007 and November 2009 (23-gauge group) and 153 eyes undergoing 20-gauge vitrectomy between January 2004 and June 2006 (20-gauge group) for either idiopathic macular holes or idiopathic epiretinal membranes. All surgeries were performed by one surgeon at a single hospital. Main outcome measure was the incidence rate of iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks discovered intraoperatively and postoperatively. Results: Iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks occurred in 1 eye in the 23-gauge group and in 11 eyes in the 20-gauge group during surgery. Additional iatrogenic retinal breaks were found in 1 eye in the 23-gauge group and in 2 eyes in the 20-gauge group within 1 month after surgery. The overall incidence of iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks was 1.1% (2 of 176) in the 23-gauge group and 8.5% (13 of 153) in the 20-gauge group. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.0023). Conclusion: The incidence of iatrogenic peripheral retinal breaks during vitrectomy for macular diseases is significantly lower in 23-gauge vitrectomy than in 20-gauge vitrectomy.