Correlation of visual recovery with macular height in macula-off retinal detachments.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between the preoperative macular height of a macular detachment and visual outcome of the post retinal reattachment.


METHODS
Prospective case series of 26 patients who presented to the Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary with a primary rhegmatogenous macula-off retinal detachment. Macular detachment height was assessed by B-scan ultrasound (10 Mhz) in the seated and supine postures before surgery. Age, gender, duration of the detachment, type of surgery, preoperative (pre-op) and postoperative (post-op) visual acuities at 3 and 6 months and status of the fellow eye were noted.


RESULTS
A total of 26 eyes of 26 patients (mean age: 61.4 years+/-15.56 SD) were recruited. The mean logMAR pre- and post-op visual acuities at 3 and 6 months were 1.5+/-1.1 SD (range: 0.2-3), 0.38+/-0.23 SD (range: 0-0.84), and at 6 months 0.29+/-0.22 SD (range: 0-1.0). The median period of the macular detachment was 4.5 days (95% CI: 2-8 days). There was no significant difference between the mean macular heights while seated 2.42 mm+/-1.2 or supine 2.39 mm+/-1.0 (t-test, P=0.9). Correlation showed that the pre-op macular height is a statistical predictor of post-op visual acuity in our group of patients with macula-off retinal detachments.


CONCLUSIONS
The shallower the macular detachment the greater the likelihood of a good visual outcome.
Mowatt
L
L
Department of Surgery, Anaesthesia, Radiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, WI. lizettemowatt@yahoo.com
Tarin
S
S
Nair
R G
RG
Menon
J
J
Price
N J
NJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017679:Cryotherapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012591:Scleral Buckling; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014821:Vitrectomy