November 07, 2025
1 min watch
Key takeaways:
- Rates of endophthalmitis, retinal tear/detachment and hemorrhage were low.
- Vitrectomy remains a reasonable treatment for floaters.
NEW YORK — Rates of complications in vitrectomy for floaters were low in a real-world study presented at OSN New York Retina.
Brian K. Do, MD, FASRS, said data from the IRIS Registry presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting in 2024 revealed higher than expected complication rates in vitrectomy for visually symptomatic floaters, which surprised meeting attendees.
“I took this home with some of my partners, and we decided to take a look at our own practice’s data to see how our data compared,” Do, of The Retina Group of Washington, said during a presentation.
In the IRIS Registry study, which included more than 42,000 eyes, the rates of endophthalmitis, vitreous hemorrhage, and retinal tear or detachment were 3.7%, 26.3% and 4.2%, respectively, Do said.
Do and colleagues collected data from 413 eyes of 288 patients who underwent vitrectomy for floaters between January 2017 and November 2024, including best corrected visual acuity and preoperative IOP as well as operative data and postoperative course. Of those eyes, 362 had full operative reports available.
In their practice, Do and colleagues identified five eyes with endophthalmitis (1.2%). After treatment, four eyes had good vision, while one had no light perception.
They also identified seven eyes with retinal tear or detachment (1.7%) that had BCVA of 20/20 to 20/30 at last follow-up, Do said.
Finally, Do and colleagues identified vitreous hemorrhage in 23 eyes (5.58%). All but one maintained a postoperative BCVA between 20/20 and 20/30.
The rate of return to the operating room for an intraocular procedure was lower in the current study compared with the IRIS Registry study (2.7% vs. 3.7%).
“This is still something that’s reasonable to do,” Do said during his presentation. “I think many of us who have done these types of surgeries have found that these are sometimes our happiest patients.”
The study results overall showed positive visual acuity outcomes in patients who had undergone vitrectomy, he said.
“I think for the right patient, [vitrectomy for floaters] is something that all of us should consider,” Do told Healio.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Do BK. Intraoperative characteristics and postoperative complications of primary vitrectomy for symptomatic vitreous floaters: “Real world” experience from a single practice. Presented at: OSN New York and OSN New York Retina; Nov. 7-9, 2025; New York.
Reference:
- Chan L, et al. Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) outcomes of vitrectomy for floaters. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; July 17-20, 2024; Stockholm.
Disclosures:
Do reports consulting for AbbVie, Alimera, ANI, Annexon Biosciences, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Bausch + Lomb, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Ocular Therapeutix and Regenerative Patch Technologies and being a speaker for AbbVie and Alimera.
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