Subretinal Fluid Drainage through Original Breaks without Perfluorocarbon Liquid for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment

Purpose: To evaluate the efficiency of a surgical method using original breaks to drain subretinal fluid without using retinotomy and perfluorocarbon liquid for patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: A retrospective chart review comparing 41 eyes of 41 patients who received vitrectomy, and used original breaks to drain subretinal fluid without using perfluorocarbon liquid, and 40 eyes of 40 patients who received vitrectomy using perfluorocarbon liquid for simple RRD between February 2014 and December 2017 was conducted. All patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months after surgery. Results: The primary anatomical success percentages were 97.6% and 97.5% for groups that did not and did use perfluorocarbon liquid, respectively. Retinal detachment recurred in one eye from both groups. The final success percentage was 100%. The preoperative mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 0.87 +/- 0.80 improved to 0.30 +/- 0.30 at postoperative 6 months for the group that did not use perfluorocarbon liquid, while it improved from 0.86 +/- 0.71 to 0.42 +/- 0.52 for the group that did use perfluorocarbon liquid. Both groups showed significant BCVA improvement (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications caused by the use of perfluorocarbon liquid. Conclusions: Using original breaks to drain subretinal fluid without perfluorocarbon liquid in cases with RRD may be an effective and safe surgical technique for functional and anatomical recovery without serious complications.