Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate primary scleral buckling (SB) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD) frequently treated with vitrectomy with or without SB.
Methods:
Primary SB performed in the past 5 years on all RRD cases that don’t qualify for pneumatic retinopexy or have significant proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR).
Results:
75 patients (eyes) underwent primary SB. 100% showed initial reattachment. 8 (11%) required additional treatment after 1 month (3 lasers and 5 buckle revisions). All 75 eyes remained reattached for the duration of follow up (average 12 M) with an average of 5.4 lines of improvement. 6 (8%) showed mild exposure requiring partial buckle removal (in the office). No other untoward effects or complications were encountered.
Conclusions:
Primary SB without vitrectomy is a safe and effective treatment for many RRDs. It saves unnecessary complications and cost. Generations of vitreoretinal surgeons are being deprived of this effective therapy because of lack of exposure to it during their training. This deficiency affects the quality of SB, even as a secondary procedure.
Keywords: 697 retinal detachment