CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT REPAIR IN PATIENTS WITH NYSTAGMUS

To report the anatomical and visual outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair in patients with congenital or acquired nystagmus.

This was a case series involving a retrospective review of medical records from January 1, 2015, to April 1, 2021, of eight eyes of eight patients (seven men and one woman) with documented nystagmus who underwent rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair. Primary outcomes included final reattachment rate and single surgery anatomical success at three months postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included final visual acuity and mean number of additional procedures required for retinal reattachment.

Mean age was 52.1 years (range: 14-77 years), and mean follow-up time was 18.6 months (range: 2.8-32.9 months). Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) was performed in four patients (50.0%), scleral buckle in 3 (37.5%), and PPV/scleral buckle in 1 (12.5%). A repeat PPV was required in three eyes (37.5%) because of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, two of which initially underwent PPV, and one had PPV/scleral buckle. Two eyes (25%) required a third PPV because of proliferative vitreoretinopathy or retinal breaks. Mean time to first redetachment was 29 days. Single surgery anatomic success at three months was achieved in five patients (62.5%). Complete final retinal reattachment was achieved in all patients. Final visual acuity improved or stabilized in seven eyes (87.5%).

Despite a 100% final retinal reattachment rate, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair can be challenging among patients with nystagmus, including postoperative complications such as recurrent retinal detachment because of retinal breaks. No silicone oil emulsification or related complications were observed in our series.