Clinical Outcomes of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair in Patients with Nystagmus.

Abstract

To report the anatomical and visual outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair in patients with congenital or acquired nystagmus. This was a case series involving a retrospective review of medical records from January 1st, 2015, to April 1st, 2021 of 8 eyes of 8 patients (7 male, 1 female) with documented nystagmus who underwent RRD repair. Primary outcomes included final re-attachment rate and single surgical anatomic success (SSAS) at three months postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included final visual acuity and mean number of additional procedures required for retinal re-attachment. Mean age was 52.1 years (range: 14 to 77 years) and mean follow-up time was 18.6 months (range: 2.8 to 32.9 months). Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) was performed in 4 patients (50.0%), scleral buckle (SB) in 3 (37.5%), and PPV-SB in 1 (12.5%). A repeat PPV was required in 3 eyes (37.5%) due to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), 2 of which initially underwent PPV and 1 had PPV/SB. Two eyes (25%) required a third PPV due to PVR or retinal breaks. Mean time to first re-detachment was 29 days. SSAS at 3 months was achieved in 5 patients (62.5%). Complete final retinal re-attachment was achieved in all patients. Final visual acuity improved or stabilized in 7 eyes (87.5%). Despite a 100% final retinal re-attachment rate, RRD repair can be challenging among patients with nystagmus, including postoperative complications such as recurrent retinal detachment due to retinal breaks. No silicone oil emulsification or related complications were observed in our series.