Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2025
Evaluation of Capillary and Other Vessel Contribution to Macular Perfusion Density Measured with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: February 18, 2022
OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY EVALUATION OF PERIPAPILLARY MICROVASCULAR CHANGES AFTER RHEGMATOGENOUS
Vincenza Bonfiglio1, Elina Ortisi2, Marcella Nebbioso3
1Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, Ophthalmology Section, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Purpose:
To evaluate the radial peripapillary capillary plexus (RPCP) vessel density (VD) and the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in eyes successfully treated with pars plana vitrectomy for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional multicenter clinical study, eyes with a minimum 12-month follow-up were reexamined. The RPCP VD and RNFL thickness in the rhegmatogenous retinal detachment subfields of the affected eye (study group) were compared with the corresponding areas of the healthy fellow eyes (control group).
Results:
Fifty-three eyes were included in the study. A significantly lower RPCP VD and RNFL thickness were observed in those subfields affected by rhegmatogenous retinal detachment compared with those of the control group (P < 0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed between undetached subfields in the study group and their corresponding images in the control group. In the study group, a significant correlation was found between RPCP VD and RNFL thickness in subfields with detached retina (r = 0.393, P < 0.001) and undetached retina (r = 0.321, P < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Radial peripapillary capillary plexus VD changes were found in the subfields of detached retina successfully treated with pars plana vitrectomy and they correlated with RNFL thinning. These data suggest a coexistence of neuronal and microvascular damage in patients affected by rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
