Early Removal of Scleral Buckle

Doi: 10.36351/pjo.v38i2.1357

Abstract

Purpose:  To study the outcomes of early removal of segmental buckle on visual acuity, retinal status, and astigmatism.

Study Design:   Interventional case series

Place and Duration of Study:  Mayo hospital, from February 2018 to July 2018.

Methods:  Ten patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were recruited. All the patients underwent segmental radial sponge with cryoretinopexy, with or without drain and intraocular gas tamponade as per need. Post-operative follow ups were at 1^st week, 4^th week and 6^th week. Sponge was removed at 6^th week after making sure that the retina was attached. Follow ups after buckle removal were planned at 1^st week, 1^st month and 3^rd month.  Improvement in VA, retinal status and astigmatism were noted. The commonest reason for the explant removal was infection followed by pain. Normality was checked through Shapiro-Wilk’s W-test and the normality criteria was met so paired sample t-test was used to assess the significance of astigmatism pre and post-surgery.

Results:  The average age was 32.30 ± 16.75 years (range, 03 – 61 years). Anatomical success was achieved in 100%. Visual acuity improved in all patients. Moreover, early removal of buckle reduced astigmatism and further improvement in vision was also noted. Pre and post-surgical vision improvement was statistically significant with p-value of 0.000. After removal of buckle, improvement of astigmatism was also statistically significant p-value 0.004.

Conclusion:  The early removal of scleral explant not only provides symptomatic relief to the patients, but is also associated with marked improvement in visual acuity was noted.

Key Words:  Visual Acuity, Astigmatism, Retinal Detachment, Segmental Scleral Buckle.