Abstract

Aim: To describe a subset of patients with recurrent retinal detachments caused by anterior intraretinal and subretinal proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), which required greater than 180° retinotomy and silicone oil tamponade.

Methods: Interventional case series. Forty-one patients underwent >180° retinotomy, anterior retinectomy, removal of subretinal membranes, laser to the retinotomy edge and silicone oil tamponade. Risk factors for detachment, prior surgical history and PVR location were examined. Main outcomes included change in visual acuity, recurrent detachment and postoperative complications.

Results: Cataract extraction (49%), high myopia (29%) and lattice degeneration (27%) were preoperative risk factors. The average number of prior procedures for retinal attachment was 2.3 (SD 0.9). The majority of detachments were inferior and related to anterior intraretinal and subretinal PVR. Twenty-four patients (59%) saw 20/200 or better. Eleven patients (27%) had poor vision (<20/400) at the end of follow-up. Thirty-seven retinas (90%) remained attached. Increased rates of postoperative corneal decompensation (p<0.0001) and silicone oil in the anterior chamber (p<0.0001) were statistically significant markers of poor visual outcome.

Conclusions: Patients with complex PVR requiring a large retinotomy often had similar presurgical conditions. A large inferior retinotomy effectively addressed proliferations where they most frequently occur, and silicone oil was beneficial.