A pilot study on the use of silicone oil-RMN3 as heavier-than-water endotamponade agent.
OBJECTIVE
This work was conducted to report an interventional non-comparative pilot study using Oxane HD, a mixture of ultra-purified silicone oil and RMN3, a partially fluorinated olefin, as heavier-than-water internal tamponade.


METHODS
Twenty-eight consecutive patients were recruited for this study. Indications included recurrent retinal detachment (RD) with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) (stage > or =C2) arising from inferior or posterior tears, recurrences after vitreoretinal surgery, penetrating trauma and combined rhegmatogenous and choroidal detachment. The patients underwent a pars plana vitrectomy, membrane peeling, and Oxane HD was used as long-term internal tamponade.


RESULTS
Oxane was removed after 88 days (range 45-96 days) and exchanged with BSS in five eyes, long-acting gas in 14 eyes and with silicone oil in nine eyes. Retinal reattachment was achieved in 15 eyes. The overall anatomical success rate obtained using Oxane HD was 53.5%. In 15 patients with previous marked scleral buckling, the success rate was 26%: in nine patients recurrent RD occurred in the inferior sector, in five patients new tears were detected in the lower sectors; membrane formation was observed in 15 eyes. In 13 patients without marked scleral indent, the success rate was 84.6%. There was no evidence of dispersion and excessive inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
Oxane HD may be a useful tool in complicated RD with large inferior breaks, inferior PVR or combined rhegmatogenous, and choroidal detachment without marked scleral buckling, which put the eye profile out of shape, led to a higher failure rate and reduced the tamponading effectiveness of Oxane HD.
Santa Chiara Hospital, Eye Surgery Clinic, Via Roma 67, 56100 Pisa, Italy. chiroftalmica@ao-pisa.toscana.it
Stanislao
S
Rizzo
Federica
F
Genovesi-Ebert
Claudia
C
Belting
Andrea
A
Vento
Federica
F
Cresti
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000475:Alkenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017075:Laser Coagulation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000601:surgery*; D012827:Silicone Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014783:Viscosity; D014821:Vitrectomy; D018630:Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative / Q000601:surgery*
D000475:Alkenes; D012827:Silicone Oils