Pneumatic Retinopexy for Treating Selected Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachments

Abstract

Objective: To determine the anatomical and functional results in patients operated on for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment using the pneumatic retinopexy technique.

Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study was conducted with patients operated on using the pneumatic retinopexy technique at Centro Oftalmológico, of Villa Clara Province, Cuba, between June 2019 and April 2023.

Results: The mean age of the studied patients was 62.1 years. Men were more affected than women (60.6 %). 57.6 % of the eyes had best-corrected visual acuity of hand movement at diagnosis and 93.9 % had detached macula. Sulfur hexafluoride was used as a buffer solution in 66.7 % of the operations. Anatomical success was achieved with one operation in 81.8 % (95 % CI: 80-83.6 %) of cases. In these, functional success was achieved in 85.2 % (95 % CI: 83.4-87 %). The anatomically successful eyes achieved a mean best-corrected visual acuity of 0.5 tenths (95 % CI: 0.2-0.7), apart from a mean gain of 0.4 tenths (95 % CI: 0.3-0.5). The most frequent complication was the persistence of residual subretinal fluid, which occurred more frequently in patients older than 60 years and disappeared, on average, at 55.9 days without the need for treatment.

Conclusions: Pneumatic retinopexy is a very good option to treat selected retinal detachments. In patients with no or minimal proliferative vitreoretinopathy, good anatomical and functional results are achieved.