Purpose: This study used spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to evaluate individual retinal layer thickness in eyes with macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) treated with silicone oil (SiO) or gas endotamponades.
Study design: This was a retrospective, interventional, comparative study.
Methods: The study included 86 eyes of 43 patients who were divided into 3 groups according to endotamponades: SiO, perfluoropropane (C3F8), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The affected eyes were compared with the fellow eyes of the same patient via SD-OCT automated segmentation analysis. Patients with a follow-up of at least 6 months were included in the final analysis. Macular segmentation including the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), inner retinal layers (IRLs), and outer retinal layers (ORLs) was analyzed.
Results: In the SiO group, the mean thickness of each retinal layer including the RNFL, GCL, IPL, ONL, and IRLs within a 1-mm ETDRS subfield of the affected eyes was significantly lower than that of the fellow eyes (P = 0.036, P = 0.028, P = 0.003, P < 0.001, P = 0.013, respectively). There was no significant difference in the C3F8 and SF6 groups (all P > 0.05). The difference between the ONL and IRLs in the SiO-treated eyes differed significantly from that of the gas groups (P = 0.001 and P = 0.045, respectively) The difference in the GCL thickness of the affected eyes and healthy eyes showed a significant correlation with postoperative BCVA changes in the SiO, C3F8, and SF6 groups (P = 0.041, P = 0.048, and P = 0.045, respectively).
Conclusion: The findings of our study show that endotamponades used in RRD surgery may have different effects on retinal layers. In addition, SiO may cause undesirable effects on the retinal layers.
Keywords: Optical coherence tomography; Perfluoropropane; Retinal detachment; Retinal layer thickness; Silicone oil; Sulfur hexafluoride.