Abstract
Limited information is available on morphologic and functional regeneration of photoreceptors after retinal detachment (RD) surgery. This observational clinical study compared morphologic and functional changes of cones after vitrectomy for macula-off retinal detachment. Prospective, fellow-eye comparative case series. StudyPopulation: Five eyes after vitrectomy with gas for macula-off retinal detachment (retinal detachment eyes, RDE) and 5 healthy fellow eyes (HFE) of 5 patients (mean age 59.8 years, macula-off duration 0.5days to 5.5days). ObservationProcedures: Eyes were examined with adaptive-optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT), spectral-domain OCT (SDOCT), and microperimetry (MP) at 6 (baseline, BL) and 56weeks (follow-up, FUP) after 23 gauge pars plana vitrectomy and SF6 gas tamponade. Eight corresponding regions at foveal eccentricities of 2.5° (ecc 2.5°) and 6.5° (ecc 6.5°) were analyzed in every eye. AO-OCT en face images and SD-OCT B-scans were graded regarding irregularity and loss of photoreceptor signals ranging from none to severe changes. The number of detectable cones at height of the inner-outer segment junction (IS/OS) and cone outer segment tips (COST) was counted manually in AO-OCT images. MP with a custom grid was used to assess retinal sensitivity at these locations. MainOutcomeMeasures: Cone density, cone pattern regularity and signal attenuation, retinal sensitivity. In comparison to HFE, RDE showed highly irregular cone patterns in AO-OCT and irregular outer retinal bands in SDOCT. Despite significant improvement of cone pattern regularity compared to BL (P < .001), 63% of AO images showed remaining cone pattern irregularity and 45.5% of SDOCT B-scans showed severe signal reduction at FUP. In HFE, mean cone density retrieved from IS/OS and COST remained around 20,000/mm2 (ecc 2.5°) and 16,000/mm2 (ecc 6.5°) at BL and FUP. Cone density of RDE was significantly reduced and ranged between 200/mm2 and 15,600/mm2 (P < .001) at BL. Despite improvement at FUP (P < .001), mean cone density at IS/OS and COST was still lower compared to HFE and ranged between 7790 and 9555 cones/mm2 (P < .001). Mean retinal sensitivity of all measured locations remained 18 dB in HFE and was significantly lower in RDE, with 14.30 dB at BL and 14.64 dB at FUP. Both SDOCT grading and microperimetry sensitivity showed strong correlation with AO-OCT grading and cone density (rho values > 0.750). The combination of AO-OCT, SDOCT, and microperimetry is a powerful tool to capture cone regeneration after vitreoretinal surgery. Our study shows that cone morphology and function improve within 56weeks after RD surgery but structural and functional impairment is still present.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
