Pseudophakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: combined pars plana vitrectomy and scleral buckle versus pars plana vitrectomy alone

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of combined vitrectomy + scleral buckle (SB) and vitrectomy alone for pseudophakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: Cases included 65 eyes of 63 patients with primary non-complex pseudophakic RRD. The first group underwent combined vitrectomy + SB between January 2010 and August 2012, and the second group was treated with vitrectomy alone between September 2012 and October 2013. The medical records of the patients were reviewed for preoperative examinations, follow-up examinations (including final visual acuity [VA]), appearance of redetachment and complications. The main outcomes were recurrent retinal detachment, complications, and VA improvement. Results: The rate of single-surgery anatomic success was non-significantly lower in the combined vitrectomy + SB group compared with the vitrectomy alone group — 75.8 % versus 84.4 % respectively (P = 0.683). Complications were significantly more frequent in the former compared to the latter (P = 0.014). The final VAs were 0.580 (logMAR) and 0.486, respectively (P = 0.258). VA improvement of ≥3 lines was achieved in 48.5 % and in 50 % of the eyes respectively (P = 0.769). Conclusions: There were no significant differences in single-surgery anatomic success rates and VA improvement between combined vitrectomy + SB and vitrectomy alone for pseudophakic RRD. Significantly more complications occurred in the combination group.