Scleral buckling and neumatic retinopexy

Abstract

Objective: Determine the results of the surgical technique of scleral buckling and neumatic retinopexy in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Methods: A prospective longitudinal descriptive study was conduced of patients undergoing scleral buckling and neumatic retinopexy at Villa Clara Ophthalmology Center from June 2019 to December 2020. Results: Male gender prevailed; mean age was 57.5 years. In 72.7% of the cases the retinal break causing the detachment was a U-shaped tear. Mean time of evolution of the disease was 7.2 days, and 77.3% of the eyes had a detached macula at diagnosis. In 68.2% preoperative best corrected visual acuity was < 20/200. Patients with a preoperative detached macula achieved a mean final visual acuity of 0.4 ± 0.3 (standard deviation). Good final anatomical and functional results were obtained in 86.4% and 77.3% of the eyes. Epiretinal membranes were a postoperative complication in both surgical techniques, whereas residual subretinal fluid was a complication only in neumatic retinopexy. Conclusions: Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment presents with poor preoperative visual acuity. Both surgical techniques obtain good anatomical and functional results in patients with minimum or no proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Key words: Retinal detachment; scleral buckling; neumatic retinopexy; treatment results.