Silicone Oil Tamponade in Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: Functional and Morphological Results

Purpose: To evaluate the functional and morphological outcomes of patients with SO tamponade due to primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (primRD) and recurrent rhegmatogenous detachment (recRD). Methods: Seventy-five eyes were enrolled in this prospective study between January 2009 and December 2016. Patients with primRD and recRD were evaluated in a complete ophthalmic examination including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCT before and after silicone oil removal (SOR). Results: The primRD group comprised 35 eyes and the recRD group 40 eyes with a duration of SO tamponade of 9 +/- 4/12 +/- 11 months in the primRD/recRD groups (p = .088). The preoperative OCT revealed a high rate of morphological changes such as ERM (primRD: 26%; recRD: 61%) and CME (primRD: 10%; recRD: 44%) in the recRD compared with the primRD group (ERM: p = .18; CME: p = .04). No such difference was observed postoperatively. Disruption of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) was similar in both groups (primRD: 58%; recRD: 66%) before SOR and was restored in 65%/55% (primRD/recRD) after SOR. No difference was found regarding pre- and postoperative VA (0.91 +/- 0.54/0.90 +/- 0.54logMAR primRD/recRD preoperative; 0.76 +/- 0.56/0.71 +/- 0.53logMAR primRD/recRD at the last follow-up; p = .96/p = .70). EZ integrity (0.43 +/- 0.31logMAR) was associated with better functional results than an interrupted EZ (0.86 +/- 0.43logMAR; p < .001). A significant positive correlation of the duration of SO tamponade and the final VA was found in the primRD (r = 0.396, p = .02) whereas none in the recRD group (r = 0.196; p = .31). Conclusion: Morphological changes including ERM and CME were more pronounced in the recRD group, but only before SOR. Interestingly, the pre- and postoperative BCVA were similar in both groups with EZ integrity being a factor of good functional outcome. The duration of SO tamponade had a statistically significant negative impact on the postoperative VA in the primary detachments.