Outer Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Changes Associated With Intraocular Silicone Oil Administration.

Purpose: To describe optical coherence tomography (OCT) changes that occur with silicone oil tamponade that may contribute to vision loss.

Methods

A retrospective consecutive cohort study was conducted on patients seen at a single center from 2015 to 2023. Inclusion criteria were patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy with silicone oil tamponade for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair.

Results

Thirteen patients met the inclusion criteria. In the macula-on group, average visual acuity (VA) was 20/60 (0.47 logMAR) while oil was in the eye, and at last follow-up following oil removal, was 20/30 (0.18 logMAR). Seven of 8 patients had resolved OCT outer retinal changes on oil removal. There was a significant improvement in vision with oil removal in comparison with VA prior to oil removal (P = .04). In the macula-off detachment group, patients' average VA prior to surgery with silicone oil was 20/400 (1.5 logMAR). Average VA was 20/400 (1.4 logMAR) during silicone oil tamponade, and at last follow-up, was 20/80 (0.61 logMAR). After oil removal, all OCT outer retinal changes resolved without improvement in vision compared with before oil removal (P = .057).

Conclusions

We report outer retinal OCT changes with a subsequent decline in VA. More than 90% of these changes resolved, and VA improved following oil removal. Timely removal upon identification of these changes may improve final visual outcomes, depending on macular detachment status on presentation.