Outcomes After Silicone Oil Removal in Patients with Acute Retinal Necrosis Who Underwent Vitrectomy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the outcomes after silicone oil removal (SOR) in patients with acute retinal necrosis (ARN).

METHODS

Retrospective case series. Patients diagnosed with ARN-associated retinal detachment (RD) who underwent vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade and subsequent SOR between January 2013 and December 2021 who were followed up for ≥1 year after SOR were included. The medical records before and after SOR were reviewed.

RESULTS

Fifty-three eyes from 52 patients were included. SOR was conducted at 201.3 ± 104.1 days (range, 63‒547) after vitrectomy. The duration of follow-up after SOR was 1266.8 ± 797.2 days (range, 384-3865). The logMAR BCVA before SOR, at 1 year after SOR, and at the last follow-up were 1.249 ± 0.816, 1.086 ± 0.791, and 1.488 ± 0.961. The intraocular pressure (IOP) at the corresponding times were 13.2 ± 3.6, 10.9 ± 3.4, and 10.4 ± 3.5 mmHg. Seven patients (13.5%) experienced recurrent RD at 81.0 ± 46.7 days (range, 18‒154) after SOR. At 1 year after SOR, 4 eyes (7.5%) had hypotony and 26 (49.1%) had macular edema; the corresponding numbers were 7 (13.5%) and 27 (51.9%) at the last follow-up. The IOP at the time of SOR (r =  -0.438, p = 0.001) was the risk factor for the occurrence of hypotony after SOR (area under the ROC curve: 0.873; cutoff value: 11.30 mmHg).

CONCLUSION

The BCVA and IOP continued to change after SOR in ARN patients. Ocular complications mostly occurred within the first year after SOR. IOP at the time of SOR was a main predictor of the clinical outcomes after SOR.