title: Prognosis of visual acuity after surgery for detached retina, with special reference to the unaffected eye.
abstract: In 600 patients with successfully operated unilateral retinal detachment, the visual acuity prognosis of the operated eye was studied in relation to that of the normal eye. Within 2 years after operation, most of these patients were in the following three groups: (1) visual acuity worse than 0.5 in the non-detached retina and worse than 0.1 in the reattached one; (2) visual acuity better than 1.0 in the non-detached retina and worse than 0.3 in the reattached one; and (3) visual acuity better than 1.0 in the non-detached retina and better than 0.8 in the reattached one. Some of the patients in group 2 showed greater improvement of the visual acuity in the reattached retina, which occasionally became superior to that in the non-detached one. In spite of possible improvement until 2 years after operation, the visual acuity in the reattached retina was apt to decrease after more than 5 years following operation. The presence of macular detachment was ill for the recovery of visual acuity. About 30% of the patients with a visual acuity of about 1.0 in the non-detached retina showed no improvement of the visual acuity in the reattached retina. About 50% of the patients with successful surgery for retinal detachment had a difference of more than 0.6 in visual acuity between the non-detached and the detached retinas.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000601:surgery*; D014792:Visual Acuity