Office repair of retinal detachment using a Lincoff Temporary balloon buckle.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to report on a series of patients with retinal detachments that were repaired in an office setting using a temporary Lincoff balloon scleral buckle.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed on 162 consecutive casepatients with retinal detachment repaired in the authors' office between January 1989 and June 1995 using a temporary Lincoff balloon scleral buckle. All procedures were performed using local anesthesia and minimal equipment.

RESULTS

The retina was attached completely with a single procedure in 88% of patients. Of the 19 retinas (12%) that failed primary surgery, all except 1 ultimately were reattached using traditional scleral buckling in 14, combined scleral buckling and vitrectomy in 3, and pneumatic retinopexy in 1, for a total success rate of 99.4%. Complications were minimal.

CONCLUSION

A temporary Lincoff balloon scleral buckle can be used safely and effectively in an office setting for retinal detachment repair. The results are comparable to other available methods that take more time, involve greater risk, have higher complication rates, and are more costly. This technique represents a viable alternative, particularly in a managed care environment.