Short-term external buckling with pneumatic retinopexy for retinal detachment with inferior retinal breaks.

Hui-Chen Cheng, Shui-Mei Lee, Fenq-Lih Lee, Jorn-Hon Liu, Chieh-Hsiung Kuan, Po-Kang Lin

Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.

American journal of ophthalmology 2013 Apr

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To introduce a new approach for short-term external scleral buckling with pneumatic retinopexy for the management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with inferior retinal breaks. Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. A review of 33 consecutive eyes of 31 patients who underwent external buckling with pneumatic retinopexy for uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with inferior retinal breaks from December 2006 through December 2010. An external buckle was made of a 505 sponge sutured along the blunt side of a 279 tyre (MIRA Inc). The buckle was inserted deeply into the inferior fornix without suture after pneumatic retinopexy and was kept in place for 3 days. Primary and final anatomic outcomes, visual acuity, and adverse events were recorded. All patients tolerated the procedure. The mean follow-up period was 24.0 months (range, 9 to 61 months). Primary success, defined as successful retinal reattachment within 6 months without further treatment, was achieved in 29 (87.9%) eyes. All patients attained final retinal reattachment (100%). Overall, the mean best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly at the end of follow-up (0.30 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution units; Snellen equivalent, 6/12), compared with the preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (0.82 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution units; Snellen equivalent, 6/38; P < .001). Short-term external buckling with pneumatic retinopexy is a novel and effective treatment for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with inferior retinal breaks, with a comparable success rate with other treatment methods. This approach also can avoid complications of long-term buckle implantation. Further comparative cohort studies may be necessary to compare the clinical efficacy with other conventional operations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Hui-Chen Cheng, Shui-Mei Lee, Fenq-Lih Lee, Jorn-Hon Liu, Chieh-Hsiung Kuan, Po-Kang Lin. Short-term external buckling with pneumatic retinopexy for retinal detachment with inferior retinal breaks. American journal of ophthalmology. 2013 Apr;155(4):750-6, 756.e1