Two-staged surgery as an alternative to buckle-vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment complicated by choroidal detachment.

AIM

To evaluate the outcome and safety profile of short-term perfluorocarbon liquids (PFCL) tamponade in comparison with buckle-vitrectomy in case of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) associated with choroidal detachment (CD).

METHODS

Records of patients who underwent surgery for RRD/CD from January 2016 to July 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were allocated into two groups-group 1 patients underwent buckle-vitrectomy, while those in group 2 underwent a two-staged vitrectomy with short-term (5 days) PFCL tamponade.

RESULTS

The study included 33 eyes (33 patients) with mean age of 50.3 ± 17.2 years. Group 1 included 15 patients, while group 2 included 18. The pre-operative characteristics were similar in both the groups. The mean pre-operative intraocular pressure in group 1 and 2 was 9.1 ± 4.0 and 8.6 ± 5.2 mmHg, respectively (p = 0.755). Retinal re-attachment after single surgery was achieved in 10 (66.7%) and 14 eyes (77.8%), respectively. All the eyes achieved retinal re-attachment after repeat surgery in both the groups (1.40 vs 1.39 surgeries, p = 0.963). Post-surgery visual improvement was seen in 13 (86.7%) and 17 eyes (94.4%), respectively (p = 0.579). Final visual acuity of ≥ 6/60 was obtained in 7 (46.7%) and 9 eyes (50.0%), respectively (p > 0.999). None of the patients needed retinectomy during repeat surgery. None of the patients experienced exaggerated inflammation or intractable raised IOP spike which could not be controlled with medications.

CONCLUSION

Surgical outcomes were similar in both the groups. No clinically apparent toxicity was seen with post-operative short-term PFCL tamponade. Two-staged surgery is a good alternative to buckle-vitrectomy for eyes with RRD associated with CD.