[Treatment of a subretinal silicone oil bubble]

The passage of a silicone oil bubble under the retina is a rare but severe complication of retinal detachment (RD) surgery. It may cause a permanent detachment and/or migrate with time, decreasing visual function. We present five cases in which the subretinal oil bubble was successfully extracted from the subretinal space by retinotomy. Two cases were rhegmatogenous RD with proliferative vitreoretinopathy, two were post-traumatic RD, and one was a traction detachment in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The average follow-up was 17 months. In three cases, we were able to remove the silicone oil from the eye. In all cases, visual acuity was improved. Using retinotomy to extract the subretinal oil bubble seems a safe way to manage this complication.