Outcomes of Eyes Undergoing Silicone Oil Removal Following Complex Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair

Background: Describe outcomes following silicone oil removal (SOR) in eyes undergoing complex rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair with silicone oil (SO) tamponade. Methods: Retrospective analysis of eyes undergoing SOR after SO placement (SOP) for RRD repair between January 2016 and December 2021. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy and postoperative follow-up periods of < 3 months were exclusionary. ANOVA testing and standard error analyses investigated statistical significance (p < 0.05). Results: Eighty nine eyes of 88 patients underwent SOR following ³1 RRD repair with SOP. 13.5% of eyes underwent additional RRD repair(s) (12 of 89 eyes). The re-detachment (re-RD) rate following SOR was 15.7% (14 of 89 eyes). Eyes without further RRD repairs after SOR received 360° laser retinopexy prior to SOR more frequently than eyes undergoing additional RRD repair(s) after SOR (87.0% vs. 33.3%) (p = 0.03). Final visual acuity (VA) among eyes without additional RRD repairs following SOR improved by 3 lines of EDTRS letters (20/400 to 20/225) (p = 0.04). The overall rate of persistent hypotony was 6.7% (6 of 89 eyes). Conclusion: Laser retinopexy was associated with fewer repairs for re-RD following SOR. Postoperative re-RD and hypotony occurred in 15.7% and 6.7% of eyes, respectively. Final VA improved in eyes that underwent SOR without subsequent RRD repairs.