Anatomical and functional outcomes of scleral buckling versus primary vitrectomy in pseudophakic retinal detachment

Retinal detachment is the separation of the sensory retina from the retinal pigment epithelium by subretinal fluid. There are several types of retinal re-attachment surgery, including scleral buckling (SB), pneumatic retinopexy, and vitrectomy (with or without SB). The objective of this study was to compare anatomical and visual outcomes between patients with pseudophakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with silicone oil (SO) or perfluoropropane (C3F8) gas tamponade and pseudophakic RRD patients who underwent SB surgery. We evaluated retrospectively 101 pseudophakic RRD patients from a single center. The patients were classified into three groups according to the surgical procedure performed: PPV + Silicone - patients who underwent PPV with SO tamponade; PPV + Gas - patients who underwent PPV with perfluoropropane gas tamponade; and SB group - patients who underwent SB surgery. The groups were compared with regard to primary and final anatomical and visual outcomes. The number of patients in PPV + Silicone, PPV + Gas, and SB group was 39 (38.6%), 32 (31.7%), and 30 (29.7%), respectively. The mean follow-up period in PPV + Silicone, PPV + Gas, and SB group was 33.95 ± 23.58, 32.62 ± 10.95, and 33.76 ± 16.62 months, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the groups neither with regard to primary and final anatomical and visual success rates nor in relation to the recurrence rate of retinal detachment. According to our anatomical and visual outcome results, either of the three methods (i.e., PPV + Silicone, PPV + Gas, or SB) can be used in the treatment of pseudophakic retinal detachment.