Retinal Displacement Following Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Surgery
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) is a serious condition requiring surgical repair.
• Surgical techniques for RRD include pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), scleral buckle (SB), and combined SB/PPV.
• Understanding potential complications like retinal displacement is crucial for patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of retinal displacement following RRD repair.
• To compare displacement rates across different surgical methods: PPV, SB, and combined SB/PPV.

Main Methods:

• A single-center case series included 194 eyes undergoing RRD repair between April 2020 and February 2022.
• Optos fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging was used to identify retinal displacement.
• Retinal displacement was diagnosed by the presence of imprinted retinal vessels on FAF images.

Main Results:

• Overall, 12.9% (25/194) of eyes showed retinal displacement.
• Higher rates of displacement were observed in the combined SB/PPV group (17.6%) and the PPV group (15.5%) compared to the SB group (2.2%).
• Statistical analysis confirmed significantly higher displacement rates for SB/PPV (P=0.017) and PPV (P=0.021) versus SB.

Conclusions:

• Retinal displacement is more prevalent after RRD repair using PPV, either alone or in combination with SB.
• Scleral buckle surgery is associated with a low incidence of retinal displacement.
• Retinal displacement following RRD repair was not found to be associated with differences in visual acuity.