Impact of Silicone Oil Removal on Macular Perfusion.

(1)

Background

Silicone oil (SO) can be used as an endotamponade during vitreoretinal surgery for retinal detachment. There is emerging evidence that SO filling of the vitreous cavity and its removal may impact macular perfusion. So far, studies have not focused on choroidal sublayer perfusion, yet. (2)

Methods

Optical coherence tomography angiography was applied in 19 patients with SO endotamponade before and four weeks after removal of SO. (3)

Results

Perfusion of choriocapillaris increased significantly after SO removal, while perfusion of Haller's and Sattler's layer decreased significantly. (4)

Conclusions

Removal of SO impacts choroidal perfusion and leads to a perfusion shift within choroidal sublayers. This study underlines that it is worth to conduct larger prospective studies that evaluate the choroidal perfusion and its functional implications in more detail.