Reliability of preoperative ultrasonography evaluation for vitreoretinal surgery

To evaluate the present level of reliability of common ultrasonography prior to vitreoretinal surgery, we carried out a prospective study to compare preoperative ultrasonography data with direct intraoperative findings. A total of 228 eyes with different vitreoretinal disorders and opaque or clear media were studied. In the group of 187 eyes with tractional retinal detachment (group I), the percentage of agreement between the ultrasonography data and the surgical findings ranged from 77.1% to 92.2%, depending on the pathology. In the group of 41 eyes without retinal detachment (group II), agreement ranged from 90.4% to 100%. The most frequent causes of failure of preoperative ultrasonography were incorrect prediction of macular detachment, partial posterior vitreous detachment, posterior vitreoschisis and vitreoretinal adhesions. The main cause of failure was the presence of multiple complicated echoes in group I, particularly in tractional diabetic retinal detachment. To achieve maximum benefits from ordinary preoperative ultrasonography, the vitreoretinal surgeon must be fully aware of its present level of reliability and general limitations.