Abstract
Purpose :
It is known that patients who have undergone retinal cryotherapy and retinal photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity develop rhegmatogenous retinal detachment at the age of adulthood. We investigated the clinical background and postoperative outcomes of patients who recently underwent initial scleral buckling surgery but required multiple surgeries due to retinal re-detachment during follow-up.
Methods :
Four patients (mean age 42 years, 3 males and 1 female) with retinopathy of prematurity at the scar stage who underwent initial scleral buckling surgery at Tokyo Medical University Hospital or another institution and were restored to normal position at least once, but re-detached during follow-up were retrospectively evaluated based on their medical records. The main study items were time from initial scleral buckling to re-detachment, status of posterior vitreous detachment at the time of vitrectomy, postoperative recovery rate, and preoperative and postoperative visual acuity.
Results :
In all six eyes, retinal cryotherapy and retinal photocoagulation were performed in the neonatal period. The average time from initial scleral buckling to re-detachment was 6 years and 3 months. Posterior vitreous detachment was complete to the vicinity of the arcade in all six eyes, but stopped at the scar margin, and an organic vitreous membrane was present to the periphery. Preoperative visual acuity averaged 0.41 ± 0.56 on the LogMAR scale, and postoperative visual acuity averaged 0.47 ± 0.63, with no significant improvement in visual acuity. All patients were filled with silicone oil as the filling material for the initial vitrectomy and had good restoration after removal.
Conclusions :
Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment associated with retinopathy of prematurity at scar stage is difficult to treat even with advances in vitrectomy, and the number of cases is expected to continue to increase.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.