Effect of irrigation solution temperature during pars plana vitrectomy on early postoperative choroidal vascularity.

PURPOSE: This study aims to compare the effects of cooled versus room-temperature irrigation solutions on preoperative and early postoperative choroidal vascularity in patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) peeling.

METHODS

In this prospective, randomized, comparative study, 54 patients underwent standard 23-G PPV performed by a single surgeon. During the procedure, 27 patients received cooled irrigation solutions (Group 1), while the remaining 27 patients were treated with room-temperature irrigation solutions (Group 2). Central macular thickness (CMT), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were measured preoperatively and five to ten minutes postoperatively in both groups. The preoperative-to-postoperative changes within each group and the differences between the two groups were analyzed.

RESULTS

In Group 1, significant differences were observed in both SFCT and CVI values between the preoperative and postoperative measurements (p = 0.002 and p = 0.002, respectively), whereas the mild reduction in CVI in Group 2 (p = 0.012) did not remain statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the magnitude or percentage of preoperative-to-postoperative changes between the groups (p > 0.05). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant reductions in CMT, SFCT, and CVI following PPV in both groups (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

PPV caused an early postoperative decrease in choroidal perfusion, which was significant in the cold irrigation group. However, there was no significant difference between cooled and room-temperature irrigation solutions.