Abstract
Purpose::
Retinal detachments associated with a retinal tear in the superior eight clock hours or multiple tears within one clock hour can often be repaired in the office. We studied the use of laser versus cryotherapy after pneumatic retinopexy and compared the success of these procedures in the treatment of retinal detachments.
Methods::
A consecutive retrospective chart review of seventy-five patients was performed based on the billing procedure code for pneumatic retinopexy done at a tertiary care retina service. All patients with completed initial and final exams between May 1, 2003 and October 31, 2006 were included and those with incomplete exams were excluded. Clinical outcomes assessed include presenting visual acuity, rate of presentation with a macula off detachment, single procedure reattachment rate, final reattachment rate, and final visual acuity.
Results::
The average duration of follow up was 352 days. For pneumatic retinopexy, the presenting mean LogMAR visual acuity was 0.88, presenting macula off retinal detachment rate was 39%, single procedure reattachment rate was 67%, final reattachment rate was 99%, and the final mean LogMAR visual acuity was 0.34. When comparing laser versus cryotherapy after pneumatic retinopexy, single procedure reattachment rate was 70% versus 20%, final reattachment rates were 99% and 100%, and the final mean LogMAR visual acuity was 0.29 and 1.11, respectively.
Conclusions::
Our single operation success rate of pneumatic retinopexy done by this tertiary care university retina service was similar to previously published reports for this procedure. However, when comparing laser versus cryotherapy after pneumatic retinopexy, laser retinopexy had a higher single procedure reattachment rate and better final visual acuity compared to cryotherapy. Due to the unequal distribution of cases using laser retinopexy versus cryotherapy after pneumatic retinopexy, larger prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the clinical outcomes of these procedures.
Keywords: retinal detachment • laser