Abstract
Purpose: :
To study the relationship between optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual recovery after retinal detachment surgery.
Methods: :
Aprospective study was conducted on 43 eyes from 43 patients who underwent reattachment surgery for primary macula-off retinal detachment as was demonstrated and followed by OCT. At 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after scleral buckling (SB) surgery, OCT and visual acuity readings were performed. Exclusion criteria were as follows: recurrent retinal detachment, ocular trauma, any other ocular pathology that might compromise visual acuity, and former ocular surgery except cataract extraction.
Results: :
At one month after surgery, 92% of the eyes still had residual subfoveal fluid, while at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months this was found in 76%, 56%, 18%, and 0% of the eyes, respectively. Mean Snellen-visual acuity at 1 month after SB surgery was 0.45, at 6 months 0.59, at 12 months 0.66, and at 24 months 0.68. No statistically significant correlation was found between the persistence of subfoveal fluid on OCT and preoperative visual acuity, height of the retinal detachment in the foveal region, preoperative and postoperative thickness of the fovea, duration of the macular detachment, age, and visual acuity at 12 and 24 months after surgery.
Conclusions: :
OCT is a non-invasive diagnostic method that can detect and follow subtle persistent subfoveal fluid and blebs after retinal reattachment surgery. At 12 months after SB surgery, subfoveal fluid is still detectable in 18% of the eyes. At 24 months after surgery, no subfoveal fluid could be detected in any of the eyes. No correlation could be demonstrated between visual acuity and the presence and or persistence of subfoveal fluid.
Keywords: retinal detachment • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications • visual acuity