Purpose:
To identify the effects of silicone tamponade and removal on the retinal morphology using spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) imaging.
Methods:
In this retrospective review, 5 patients underwent silicone oil tamponade for repair of rhegmatogenous or tractional retinal detachments at Doheny Retina Institute from June 2008 to October 2011. SD-OCT was used to analyze retinal morphology during tamponade and after silicone oil removal. The central macular high-definition OCT scans were used to identify qualitative changes, while the volume measurements obtained from volume cube scans were used to identify quantitative changes.
Results:
The ages of the 5 patients ranged from 15-68, and all were female. Two patients had undergone silicone oil tamponade for repair of rhegmatogenous detachments, two for tractional retinal detachment, and one for combined tractional/rhegmatogenous detachment. Duration of tamponade ranged from 7 months to 5 years, and duration of post oil removal follow-up ranged from 2 weeks to 4 years. Two diabetic patients had altitudinal macular edema involving the superior macula, which resolved over 3-6 months following silicone oil removal without further interventions. The other three patients developed relative macular layer thinning, which also resolved with increased thickness of the macular volume following removal.
Conclusions:
Silicone oil tamponade may be associated with structural macular changes that resolve with oil removal. The decision to remove silicone oil is usually complicated in these complex cases, but when macular edema during tamponade is encountered, our series suggests that oil removal alone can achieve resolution.
Keywords: retinal detachment • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • retina