Return to the Operating Room after Vitrectomy for Vitreous Opacities: Intelligent Research in Sight Registry Analysis.

PURPOSE

To investigate the rate of return to the operating room after vitrectomy surgery for vitreous opacities.

DESIGN

Retrospective registry cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals receiving care in ophthalmology practices participating in the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS®) Registry.

METHODS

Data from the IRIS Registry were analyzed for patients who underwent vitrectomy for vitreous opacities. Cases were identified by the combination of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), codes (379.21, 379.22, 379.24, and 379.25), and a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for vitrectomy surgery.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The number and percentage of eyes that underwent additional eye surgery within 1 year after vitrectomy for vitreous opacities were identified, as was the nature of the additional procedures per CPT code.

RESULTS

Fifty thousand eight hundred thirty-six eyes that underwent vitrectomy surgery linked to one of the ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM codes for vitreous opacities were identified. In 17 615 eyes, the surgery was linked to the vitreous opacities code exclusively, and not to epiretinal membrane or macular hole codes. Of these, 2187 eyes (12.4%) returned to the operating room for cataract surgery, and 643 eyes (3.7%) returned to the operating room for a noncataract procedure. Four hundred fifty-seven eyes (2.6%) returned to the operating room for retinal detachment repair.

CONCLUSIONS

In the IRIS Registry, eyes undergoing vitrectomy for vitreous opacities returned to the operating room for an ophthalmic surgery other than cataract extraction 3.7% of the time, and retinal detachment repair was performed 2.6% of the time.