Correlation of optical coherence tomography pattern and visual recovery after vitrectomy with silicone oil for retinal detachment.
OBJECTIVE
To assess prospectively the features of the macular surface in silicone oil-filled eyes after surgery by analyzing whether silicone oil affects optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements and their reproducibility and whether a statistical correlation exists between postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and foveal thickness measured by OCT.


METHODS
Twenty eyes of 20 patients underwent vitrectomy with silicone oil tamponade for retinal detachment. After vitrectomy, complete ophthalmic examination including determination of BCVA and OCT was performed to quantify the visual recovery and the foveal thickness.


RESULTS
Ophthalmoscopy revealed that the retina appeared to be reattached in all 20 eyes at 3 months after surgery. BCVA ranged from 0.4 logMAR to 1.7 logMAR, and foveal thickness ranged from 80 microm to 500 microm. Postoperative foveal thickness and BCVA had a strong correlation (r = 0.93; P = 0.003).


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of silicone oil in the vitreous chamber does not change the reproducibility of OCT measurements of foveal thickness (coefficient of reproducibility, 1.48%). This study showed high statistical correlation between BCVA and foveal thickness. Therefore, postoperative BCVA is affected by postoperative foveal thickness, and visual improvement is limited in eyes with increased or decreased foveal thickness.
Avitabile
Teresio
T
Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Santa Marta Hospital, 36, via Clementi, 95 100 Catania, Italy. t.avitabile@unict.it
Bonfiglio
Vincenza
V
Sanfilippo
Marisa
M
Torrisi
Benedetto
B
Reibaldi
Alfredo
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012827:Silicone Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014821:Vitrectomy; D014822:Vitreous Body
D012827:Silicone Oils