Pneumatic retinopexy: A critical reappraisal

Pneumatic retinopexy (PR) has been widely advocated for treatment of selected rhegmatogenous retinal detachments: those with small, anterior, superior, retinal breaks and little or no proliferative vitreoretinopathy. It has been suggested that PR is underused and is advantageous because it is an outpatient clinic or office procedure, short in duration, nonincisional, and cost saving - with reduced perioperative morbidity, faster postoperative recovery, better and faster visual recovery, a low rate of complications and a high rate of overall success compared with scleral buckling or pars plana vitrectomy. We reevaluated these advantages to substantiate the effectiveness and efficiency of PR and critically define its role in the treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. We found that PR has a much higher rate of subsequent reoperation and proliferative vitreoretinopathy than scleral buckling or pars plana vitrectomy for simple, good prognosis rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. PR often involves multiple procedures that largely negates its potential cost savings and subjects the patient to prolonged stress and disability. Scleral buckling rather than PR is ideally suited for simple, good prognosis rhegmatogenous retinal detachments for surgeons who feel comfortable with the technique; alternatively, pars plana vitrectomy is indicated.