Abstract: Objective To study the effect of 25-gauge minimally invasive vitreoretinal surgery(VRS)in combination with intravitreal ranibizumab(IVR)injections to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR). Methods Eighty-eight PDR patients(88 eyes)who had undergone 25-gauge minimally invasive VRS in our hospital were selected. The patients were divided into a treatment group(n=44)and a control group(n=44)according to the different preoperative treatments they had received. In the treatment group, IVR injections were administered 3 to 5 days prior to the surgery(25-gauge minimally invasive VRS), whereas in the control group, only the 25-gauge minimally invasive VRS was performed. Intraoperative situation, best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA), intraocular pressure, and postoperative complications were compared between the 2 groups, and statistically analyzed. Results In the treatment group, the operation time, frequency of coagulation, incidence of iatrogenic fracture, and the filling rate of silicone oil were all significantly lower in comparison with the control group(P<0.05). The BCVA values of the 2 groups postoperatively were significantly higher than the preoperative values(P<0.05). The intraocular pressure values noted in the 2 groups postoperatively were significantly lower than those observed preoperatively(P<0.05). Three months following the operation, the incidence of vitreous and retinal detachment in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion The treatment of PDR with 25-gauge minimally invasive VRS in combination with IVR injections can effectively shorten the operation time, reduce the incidence of iatrogenic fracture and vitreous hemorrhage, decrease the rate of silicone oil filling, and aid in the recovery of visual acuity.

Key words: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy, Ranibizumab, Visual acuity, Vitreoretinal surgery