Inverted pneumatic retinoplexy - A method of treating retinal detachments associated with inferior retinal breaks

Purpose: To introduce the new approach of inverted pneumatic retinopexy for the management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments with inferior retinal breaks. Design: Retrospective, noncomparative case series. Participants: Eleven patients presenting with rhegmatogenous retinal detachments with causative inferior retinal breaks. Intervention: Sterile gas/air injection, cryopexy/laser retinopexy, with inverted positioning. Main Outcome Measures: Postoperative primary and final anatomical outcome, visual acuity, and complications. Results: Patients were followed for a minimum of 3 months (mean, 5.1 months). Primary retinal reattachment was obtained in 10 of 11(91%) patients. One patient sustained a redetachment secondary to proliferative vitreoretinopathy, resulting in a single operation reattachment rate of 82%. Final reattachment was obtained in 11 of 11 (100%) patients. Mean visual acuity improved about 3 lines from 20/60 to 20/30, with 11 of 11 patients experiencing improvement in their visual acuity. Two patients required an additional surgical procedure to achieve final anatomic success. No new breaks were identified in the postoperative period, and no complications resulted from the pneumatical procedure. Conclusions: Inverted pneumatic retinopexy can successfully repair retinal detachments with inferior retinal breaks under appropriate conditions.