[Follow-up study of macular function after retinal detachment surgery (author's transl)]

Forty patients successfully operated on for retinal detachment involving the macula were followed up for periods ranging from six months to nine years. The follow-up examination included testing for visual acuity, color perception and metamorphopsias, as well as biomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography. Postoperative visual acuity was correlated with the preoperative duration of retinal detachment. As expected, visual outcome was reduced in cases with lesions demonstrated by biomicroscopy and/or fluorescein angiography. In some patients visual acuity and color perception were impaired and metamorphopsias were present, even though the macula appeared normal in funduscopy and fluorescein angiography. This may be due to a possible misalignement of the photoreceptors as demonstrated in the owl monkey by Machemer.