Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To investigate the change in choroidal blood flow (ChBF) in the foveal region of the human eye with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD) before and after scleral buckling (SB). Methods:In 18 RD patients aged 22-76 years, ChBF was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) before and after SB. In 10 patients, RD included foveal region (fovea-off group), and in 8 patients, it did not (fovea-on group). To minimize individual variations, the fellow eyes served as controls. The ChBF ratio was calculated as follows: ChBF ratio = ChBF of affected eye/ChBF of fellow control eye. Results:In the fovea-on group, ChBF in the foveal region of the affected eyes did not differ from that of the fellow eyes before SB. The ChBF ratio significantly decreased 2 weeks after SB compared with before SB (p<0.05) and the ChBF ratio 2 months after SB did not differ from that before SB. In the fovea-off group, ChBF was not measurable in 3 of 10 patients, because of lack of foveal fixation. In another 7 patients, ChBF in the foveal region of the affected eyes was lower than that of the fellow eyes before SB (p<0.05). The ChBF ratio did not change 2 weeks after SB and significantly increased (p<0.05) 2 months after SB. Retinal reattachment in the foveal region was seen by indirect ophthalmoscopy after SB in all patients in the fovea-off group. Conclusion:These results suggest that ChBF in the foveal region decreases when RD is present in the foveal region and that ChBF in the foveal region transiently decreases after SB and recovers to the baseline immediately.
Keywords: 563 retinal detachment • 345 choroid • 574 sclera