Vitrectomy versus Combined Vitrectomy and Scleral Buckle for Repair of Primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment with Vitreous Hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: To compare pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with combined PPV and scleral buckle (PPV/SB) for repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) with associated vitreous hemorrhage (VH).

DESIGN

Retrospective, observational study.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients with RRD and associated VH who underwent PPV or PPV/SB from January 1, 2010, through August 31, 2020, were analyzed.

METHOD: We performed a single-institution, retrospective, observational study of 224 eyes with RRD and VH at the time of detachment. We excluded eyes with <6 months of follow-up, a prior history of retinal detachment (RD) repair with vitrectomy or SB, VH that resolved before surgical intervention, and tractional or combined tractional and rhegmatogenous detachments.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Single-surgery anatomic success (SSAS) at 6 months, defined as no recurrent RD requiring surgical intervention.

RESULTS

Pars plana vitrectomy and PPV/SB were performed on 138 eyes (62%) and 85 eyes (38%), respectively. The mean age of the PPV and PPV/SB patients was 61.9 and 60.2 years, respectively. Single-surgery anatomic success was achieved in 107 of 138 eyes (77.5%) that underwent PPV and 78 of 85 eyes (91.7%) that underwent PPV/SB. The difference in SSAS between types of treatment was significant (P = 0.006). Mean visual acuity improvement in the PPV/SB group was 0.54 logMAR units greater than that in the PPV group (P = 0.126). The incidence of postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy in the PPV/SB group (11.7%) was lower than that in the PPV group (19.5%; P = 0.128). The rate of repeat PPV for non-RD reasons was similar for both the groups (P = 0.437). Final reattachment status was achieved in 137 of the 138 and 84 of the 85 eyes in the PPV and PPV/SB groups, respectively. Final visual acuity improvement was significantly better in eyes with PPV/SB than in eyes with PPV alone (logMAR 2.12 vs. 1.26, respectively; P = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with RRD and VH, SSAS was superior in patients treated with PPV/SB compared with those treated with PPV alone. Although not significantly different, the PPV/SB group had better visual outcomes and a lower postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy rate.