title: Incidence of retinal detachment after fellow-performed primary pars plana vitrectomy.
abstract: Background. Primary pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is often performed by vitreoretinal fellows. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of retinal breaks and detachments (RD) after fellow-performed PPV. Methods. We reviewed 119 consecutive cases of standard 3-port primary PPVs on 115 patients at a teaching institution from 2003 to 2006. In all cases, the primary surgeon was a vitreoretinal fellow. Patients with previous RD were excluded. Cases were reviewed for postoperative retinal detachments, and all patients were followed for up to 1 year. Results. Intraoperative retinal breaks occurred in 5 of 119 eyes (4.2%). One break was associated with sclerotomy and 4 were not. Postoperative RD occurred in 8 of 119 eyes (6.7%). Two RDs were sclerotomy related, 5 were not, and 1 was of indeterminate origin. Conclusions. Incidence of retinal breaks and RD following primary PPV by vitreoretinal fellows is low and comparable to that of fellowship-trained surgeons.
authors.affiliation: Casey Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, 3375 SW Terwilliger Boulevard, Portland, OR 97239-4197, USA ; Private Practice in Provo, Provo, UT 84604, USA.
authors.forename: Justin T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: Casey Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, 3375 SW Terwilliger Boulevard, Portland, OR 97239-4197, USA ; Ophthalmology, US Air Force Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Langley, VA 23665, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-4197, USA.
authors.forename: Dongseok
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1552-4072
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Casey Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, 3375 SW Terwilliger Boulevard, Portland, OR 97239-4197, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Casey Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, 3375 SW Terwilliger Boulevard, Portland, OR 97239-4197, USA.
authors.forename: Christina J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Flaxel