Long-term visual recovery after scleral buckling procedure of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment involving the macula.
The long-term visual recovery after a scleral buckling procedure for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment involving the macula was investigated retrospectively. The patients had been treated with a segmental or encircling scleral buckle procedure and in this study the follow-up period was between 5 and 11 years. In order to investigate the natural course of functional recovery of the reattached retina, all cases with a history of intraocular surgery or trauma were excluded. In this investigation, 34 patients were selected in which 35 eyes were studied. The best corrected visual acuities between a 6-month and 5-year postoperative period were compared. They were found to be more improved 5 years after surgery than after 6-month by two or more lines in 19 eyes (54%). In these 19 eyes, the visual acuities continued to improve up to 10 years after surgery. Improvement in the long-term postoperative visual acuity was found to correlate with the shorter duration of macular detachment (30 days), zero or mild myopia (-6 diopters) and to a lesser extent, retinal detachment. the visual function of the reattached human retinas may continue to improve over the long term, especially when these beneficial factors are present.
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea.
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SD
Chang
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Kim
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012591:Scleral Buckling; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*