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[Sudden visual loss following silicone oil removal: three patients treated for giant retinal tear]
1Service d'Ophtalmologie, Hôpital Civil de Colmar, France. g67michel@yahoo.fr
Introduction:
We report three cases of sudden visual loss after removal of silicone oil in patients treated for retinal detachment with giant retinal tear.
Patients And Methods:
Three patients were operated for retinal detachment associated with giant retinal tear. We performed vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade. Silicone oil was removed a few months later with no complications.
Results:
All three patients complained of sudden visual loss immediately after removal of silicone oil. Clinical examinations, angiography, and OCT were normal. Electroretinograms and visual field showed central macular dysfunction in all three cases. Long-term follow-up contributed no complementary information or functional improvement.
Discussion:
We report a rare complication due to the use of silicone oil, with no obvious etiology. Several hypotheses were formulated. Sudden changes in potassium concentration in retro-fluid oil may lead to macular dysfunction when silicone oil is removed. A comparison between our patients and other series in the literature raised the suspicion of risk factors for this complication: young age and macula-on retinal detachment associated with giant retinal tear.
Conclusion:
Better knowledge of the physiopathology of giant retinal tears could lead to a better understanding of this rare complication.
