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Retinal PerforationsILMTNCT02946372

Evaluation of a New Surgical Technique for Macular Hole Which Was Not Closed After a Previous Surgery

A study testing internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT) in people with Retinal Perforations, run by Groupe Hospitalier de la Region de Mulhouse et Sud Alsace at 1 site in France.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

Macular hole is an infrequent retinal pathology (2 to 4/1000) which most often affects people aged over 60, and twice common in women than men. The vast majority of cases are idiopathic. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Retinal Perforations
What is being tested?
internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT)
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
16 participants
Where
1 siteFrance
Study dates
Nov 2016to Jun 2017
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patient aged over 18,
  • Patient who already received at least a macular hole surgery,
  • Period of at least 4 months since last macular hole surgery,
  • Patient who underwent peeling of the internal limiting membrane,
  • Presents in OCT an open criteria macular hole,
  • The presence of a cataract in the preoperative clinical examination is not against indication. Its removal can be integrated to the surgery,
  • Patient who signed the consent form

Who cannot join

  • Patient with against-indication or surgical anesthetic,
  • Macular Hole "flat open" or closed,
  • No progressive macular pathology other than the presence of a macular hole (retinal detachment, Macular degeneration related to age) Idiopathic and secondary macular holes are eligible if they have already been operated with the prior internal limiting membrane coat.
  • Patient unaffiliated or not the beneficiary of a social security system, or equivalent health insurance,
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women,
  • Absence of patient consent,
  • Patient in exclusion period involved in another study,
  • Patient on administrative or judicial supervision

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

France1 site
  • GHRMSA

    Mulhouse, 68100

Other trials in France

About this study

Official title: Transposition of Internal Limiting Membrane in the Treatment of Macular Holes. A Descriptive Pilot Study

Macular hole is an infrequent retinal pathology (2 to 4/1000) which most often affects people aged over 60, and twice common in women than men.

The vast majority of cases are idiopathic. Without treatment, the macular hole evolves through a series of stages until the extension of the diameter (up to 500 microns and higher values). With a fully developed macular hole, patients complain of metamorphopsia and decreased visual acuity.

Read more

This pathology has clearly benefited from advances in microsurgery and better understanding of its pathophysiology. Macular hole treatment has evolved to include small-gauge pars plana vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and placement of intraocular gas tamponade.

The postoperative closure rate is close to 80%, but strongly depends on the initial characteristics of the hole, its diameter remaining the main prognostic factor. Thus for macular holes <400 microns, the closure rate is close to 92% dropping to 56% for macular holes above 400 microns. In case of surgical failure, one or more reoperations can be proposed, but with a lower closure rate.

The quest for a surgical technique presenting a greater success rate is a common goal to all retinologists.

Here the investigators propose a new surgical technique, derived from the FLAP method, and consisting of an inner limiting membrane transposition.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a new surgical technique for the treatment of macular holes already operated but without macular hole closure, allowing these patients a new therapeutic alternative. The success of this technique will be confirmed by detecting postoperatively the presence of the transposed internal limiting membrane into the foveal region.

Being tested
internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT)
Keywords
retina surgery, macula, macular hole, internal limiting membrane (ILM), vitrectomy, autologous transplantation
Medical subject headings
Retinal Perforations

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT)Procedure or surgery

    internal limiting membrane autologous transplantation (ILMT)

Study groups in NCT02946372
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
ILMTExperimentalinternal limiting membrane autologous transplantation (ILMT)
Receives: Procedure: internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Presence of the internal limiting membrane transposed into foveal region

    Measured: 8 weeks after surgery

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. The size and appearance of the macular hole will be assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT)

    Measured: 8 weeks after surgery

  2. Visual acuity will be assessed by clinical examination

    Measured: 8 weeks after surgery

  3. The patient's visual comfort will be assessed using the NEI-VFQ-25 Quality of Life questionary

    Measured: 8 weeks after surgery

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted27 Oct 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study startNov 2016
  3. Primary completionFeb 2017
  4. Study completionJun 2017

Why it stopped: Principal investigator left the institution

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
16 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02946372
Sponsor's protocol ID
GHRMSA 872
Other IDs
2016-A01431-50
Acronym
ILMT
Status last verified
Aug 2017
First submitted
25 Oct 2016
Last updated
20 Nov 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing internal limiting membrane transplantation (ILMT) in people with Retinal Perforations, run by Groupe Hospitalier de la Region de Mulhouse et Sud Alsace at 1 site in France.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Nov 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study was stopped early (reason given: Principal investigator left the institution). Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Presence of the internal limiting membrane transposed into foveal region (time frame: 8 weeks after surgery). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Nov 2025.

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