Post-operative hospitalization in retinal detachment correlation to recurrences

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Surgery
• Patient Outcomes

Background:

• Retinal detachment (RD) is a serious condition requiring surgical intervention.
• Postoperative hospitalization duration is a factor in patient recovery and healthcare costs.
• Surgical approaches for RD include ab-externo (scleral buckling) and ab-interno (vitrectomy).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between the number of postoperative hospitalization days and the incidence of retinal redetachment (RRD).
• To compare RRD rates following ab-externo versus ab-interno surgical techniques for primary RD.
• To assess the feasibility of day surgery for RD patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 268 patients (268 eyes) diagnosed with primary RD.
• Patients were categorized into groups based on postoperative hospitalization duration: day surgery, 1 day, 2 days, and 3+ days.
• Surgical approaches included ab-externo (n=46) and ab-interno (n=222).
• Redetachment (RT) was defined as surgical failure within 30 days of the initial operation.

Main Results:

• The overall RT rate for day surgery (group 1) was 3.5%, comparable to other hospitalization groups.
• Patients with 3 or more days of hospitalization (group 4) had the highest RT rate at 12.28%.
• The ab-interno technique showed higher RT rates compared to ab-externo across most groups, particularly in group 4 (14.29% vs. 6.67%).

Conclusions:

• Day surgery for retinal detachment (RD) does not appear to increase the incidence of retinal redetachment (RRD).
• Outpatient management of RD patients is a viable option that may reduce healthcare costs and hospitalization-related complications.
• Further research is warranted to ensure patient safety in outpatient settings for RD surgery.