Fovea-sparing rhegmatogenous retinal detachments: impact of clinical factors including time to surgery on visual and anatomic outcomes.

PURPOSE

Evaluate the impact of time to surgery and other clinical factors on visual and anatomic outcomes following surgical repair of fovea-sparing rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD).

METHODS

Visual and anatomic outcomes were analyzed for their association with clinical factors, including lens status, preoperative visual acuity (VA), contralateral RRD, RRD symptom duration, time to surgery, single-operation anatomic success, number of quadrants involved, posterior RRD extent, RRD extent closest to the fovea, number of retinal breaks, quadrants with retinal breaks, and surgery performed Saturday or Sunday versus Monday-Friday.

RESULTS

Medical records of 423 eyes with fovea-sparing RRD repaired with pneumatic retinopexy (PR), scleral buckle (SB), pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), and PPV with SB (PPV/SB) were included. Sixty-seven percent and 89% were operated within 24 and 72 h of RRD presentation, respectively. Single-operation anatomic success rates were 59%, 89%, 84%, and 92% for PR, SB, PPV, and PPV/SB interventions, respectively. Final anatomic success was 100%. Three clinical factors correlated with faster time to surgery: shorter symptom duration (p < 0.02), RRD superior location (p = 0.001), and posterior extension into the macula (p = 0.01). The time to surgery did not correlate with visual or anatomic outcomes. Two clinical factors positively correlated with postoperative vision: preoperative VA (r > 0.25, p < 0.04) and single-operation anatomic success (p < 0.04). Surgeries performed on Monday through Friday (n = 411) were associated with better anatomic outcomes compared with the limited number performed on Saturday or Sunday (n = 12) (p = 0.005), although a greater proportion of operated cases over the weekend were PR.

CONCLUSIONS

In the context of the current series, time to surgery did not correlate with visual or anatomic outcomes following the surgical repair of fovea-sparing RRDs. Preoperative VA and single-operation anatomic success correlated with improved visual outcome.