ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effect of 3D digital head-up vitreoretinal surgery and conventional optical microscope surgery in the treatment of persistent fetal vasculature (PFV).MethodsA retrospective case analysis study was performed. From November 2017 to August 2019, the enrolled patienres included that 20 eyes of 19 patients with PFV undergoing 3D digital head-up vitreoretinal surgery and 26 eyes of 26 patients with PFV undergoing traditional microscopic vitrectomy in the Eye Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital. The operation age of patients in the two groups were ≤14 years old and followed up for at least 1 month. There were no significantly statistical differences in gender (χ2=0.114), age (t=0.337), axial length (t=0.578) between the two groups (P=0.267, 0.782, 0.650). All the patients were operated under general anesthesia by the same doctor. All the surgical procedures were completed by the surgeon watching the 3D screen with 3D glasses, and all the surgical process were observed by the other medical staff including the nurses and the anaesthetists in the observation group. While in the observation group, the surgical doctor and one assistant doctor watched the surgery through the operating microscope, the other doctors watched the 2D surgical video system. The general information, pre-and postoperative visual acuity, anatomical changes and surgical complications were reviewed and compared between the two groups. Difficulty and complexity of each surgery were classified by the chief surgical doctor into 5 scores. 1: easy, 2: a little difficult, 3:much difficult, 4 very difficult; 5:most difficult. Opinions of medical staff majored in or not majored in ophthalmology were also recorded. Independent sample t test was used to compare the count data between the two groups, while chi-square test was used to compare the measurement data.ResultsThe average operating time was 34.7±8.5 minutes and the difficulty score was 2.8±0.9 in the observation group. The average operating time was 37.5±1.6 minutes and the difficulty score was 3.1±1.1 in the comparison group. There was no significant statistically differences between the two groups (t=0.782, 0.938; P=0.703, 0.562). Seven eyes had visual acuity improvement at last visit while 13 eyes with no changes compared with pre-operative visual acuity in the observation group, 8 eyes showed visual acuity improvement at last visit while 18 eyes showed no changes compared with pre-operative visual acuity in the comparison group. There was no significantly statistical differences between the two groups (χ2=0.279, P=0.254). No surgical complications such as endophthalmitis or secondary glaucoma were observed in the two groups. 3D digital system showed better stereoscopic pictures and better resolution compared with traditional microscopic vitrectomy. All the medical staff which participated in the surgery preferred to the 3D digital vitrectomy system.Conclusions3D heads-up digital vitrectomy shows better stereoscopic pictures and better resolution. 3D heads-up digital vitrectomy and traditional microscopic vitrectomy yielded comparable visual and anatomical outcomes for treatment of pediatric vitreoretinal diseases, however, there is not a significant difference in clinical outcomes.