Abstract
Purpose: :
To identify the cause of reduced visual acuity in patients with successful anatomical result after retinal detachment surgery.
Methods: :
We retrospectively reviewed the files of patients that underwent retinal detachment surgery in our clinic during the last year. Patients with anatomical successful operation and a postoperative visual acuity worse than 0.1 logMAR were identified. Patients were called and they underwent thorough re-examination including BCVA after refraction, slit lamp examination, fundus biomicroscopy, OCT and Fluorescein angiography if considered necessary.
Results: :
We reviewed the files of 46 patients with anatomically successful operation. Fourteen patients (30.5%) had a visual acuity of 0.1 logMAR or better. The remaining 32 (69.5%) patients had a visual acuity ranging from 1.1 LogMAR to 0.18 LogMAR. The reduced visual acuity was attributed to anterior segment problems in 4 patients (12.5%) (in 3 patients to cataract and 1 to bullous keratopathy), to cystoid macular edema in 13 patients (40.6%), to residual subretinal fluid in 4 patients (12.5%), to macular atrophic changes in 4 patients (12.5%), to epiretinal membrane in 5 patients (15.6%), to macular hole in 1 patient (3.1%), while in 1 patient (3.1%) no apparent reason for reduced vision was found.
Conclusions: :
Macular changes represent the most frequent reason for reduced visual acuity after anatomically successful retinal detachment surgery. Strategies to prevent or improve these alterations might improve the functional result of retinal detachment surgery.
Keywords: retinal detachment • macula/fovea • low vision