Choroidal thickness in chronic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment before and after surgery, and comparison with acute...

To evaluate subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) in cases with chronic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), before and after pars plana vitrectomy, and cases with acute RRD using optical coherence tomography.

This retrospective study included 24 eyes with chronic RRD and 26 eyes with recent-onset RRD. Best corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and SCT were measured and compared between the two groups. Of 24 eyes with chronic RRD, 11 had primary pars plana vitrectomy. Measurements of operated and fellow eyes were also compared before surgery and 1 week, 1 and 3 months after surgery.

The preoperative mean SCT in eyes with chronic RRD was 342.6 ± 111.7 µm and in fellow eyes 342.4 ± 116.7 µm (P = 0.83) and in eyes with acute RRD was 346.2 ± 51 µm and in fellow eyes 262.7 ± 46.8 µm (P < 0.001). There was also no significant change in SCT between baseline before surgery and 3 months after surgery in eyes with chronic RRD (P = 0.20).

No significant difference was found in the mean SCT between affected and fellow eyes in chronic RRD. This may be related to intraocular inflammation, which is more limited in chronic than in acute RRD. There was also no significant difference in the SCT in eyes with chronic RRD between the operated and fellow eyes after surgery. It may be concluded that vitrectomy does not affect choroidal thickness.