Outcomes of Eyes Undergoing Silicone Oil Removal Following Complex Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair.

BACKGROUND

Describe outcomes following silicone oil removal (SOR) in eyes undergoing complex rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair with silicone oil (SO) tamponade.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of eyes undergoing SOR after SO placement (SOP) for RRD repair between January 2016 and December 2021. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy and postoperative follow-up periods of < 3 months were exclusionary. ANOVA testing and standard error analyses investigated statistical significance (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

Eighty nine eyes of 88 patients underwent SOR following 31 RRD repair with SOP. 13.5% of eyes underwent additional RRD repair(s) (12 of 89 eyes). The re-detachment (re-RD) rate following SOR was 15.7% (14 of 89 eyes). Eyes without further RRD repairs after SOR received 360° laser retinopexy prior to SOR more frequently than eyes undergoing additional RRD repair(s) after SOR (87.0% vs. 33.3%) (p = 0.03). Final visual acuity (VA) among eyes without additional RRD repairs following SOR improved by 3 lines of EDTRS letters (20/400 to 20/225) (p = 0.04). The overall rate of persistent hypotony was 6.7% (6 of 89 eyes).

CONCLUSION

Laser retinopexy was associated with fewer repairs for re-RD following SOR. Postoperative re-RD and hypotony occurred in 15.7% and 6.7% of eyes, respectively. Final VA improved in eyes that underwent SOR without subsequent RRD repairs.