Visual prognosis and complications following silicone oil removal.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual prognosis and the occurrence of significant complications after silicone oil removal (SOR) in recent years and compare them to previously published data.

METHODS

A total of 89 eyes of 89 patients who underwent SOR and had at least 6 months of follow-up were included in this retrospective study. Recorded parameters included demographic information, previous ocular history, length of silicone oil retention in the eye, visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP) prior to the SOR procedure and throughout the follow-up period, and the occurrence of postoperative complications.

RESULTS

Indications for silicone oil injection included perforating trauma (9%), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (6.7%), giant tear (7.8%), and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) (76.5%). After SOR, RRD, keratopathy, persistent hypotony, and elevated IOP occurred at rates of 21.3%, 11.2%, 10.1%, and 9%, respectively. Eyes with preoperative hypotony were significantly more likely to have persistent hypotony and a poor visual prognosis. DISCUSSION. Our results provide a thorough contemporary analysis of the visual prognosis and complication rates after SOR. Avoiding SOR with long-term silicone oil retention may be advisable in hypotonous eyes.