Morphologic changes in the outer layer of the detached retina in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and central serous...

To examine changes in the outer layer of the detached retina in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) with optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Retrospective, observational case series.

Fifteen eyes (15 patients) with RRD and 16 eyes (16 patients) with acute CSC were studied by OCT-ophthalmoscope. All patients had a macular detachment within 1 month after subjective onset. We measured the height of the foveal RD and the thicknesses of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and the detached neurosensory retina; the thickness of the latter two were measured at the thickest points within 2 degrees of the center of the fovea using vertical and horizontal scans at the initial OCT examination.

The mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after reattachment improved in both groups. The ONL was significantly thicker in the RRD group than in the CSC group (133.7 +/- 62 microm, 67.0 +/- 12.0 microm; P < .001). There was no significant difference in the thickness of the detached sensory retina between the groups (P = .06). In the RRD group, the BCVA after reattachment was correlated with the thickness of the ONL and the height of the detachment (R = 0.55, P = .03; R = 0.75, P = .004). There were no correlations between the retinal morphologic changes and the BCVA in the CSC group.

The ONL became thicker in patients with a RRD, and the structure of the detached sensory retina was preserved in patients with CSC. The difference in the morphologic changes in the ONL in RD might be associated with visual function.