Microvascular changes after pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair: A comparative study based on gas tamponade agent

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gas tamponade on microvascular changes in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods Participants in this study were 48 patients with RRD, who were treated with PPV and gas tamponade without internal limiting membrane peeling. All participants underwent slit-lamp examination, fundoscopy, spectral domain-optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography at month 6 postoperatively. The fellow untreated eyes were also examined and served as the control data. Results A statistically significant enlargement in the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in both the superficial (p = 0.002) and the deep capillary plexus (p = 0.01) was noticed 6 months postoperatively in patients with RRD treated with PPV compared to the fellow eyes. The foveal avascular zone perimeter was increased in the operated eyes in the deep capillary plexus (p = 0.0003) and the foveal avascular zone circularity was decreased in both the superficial (p = 0.045) and the deep capillary plexus (p < 0.001) compared to the fellow eyes. The vessel density was not significantly different between the operated and the fellow eyes in the superficial and the deep capillary plexus. The vessel density and the foveal avascular zone parameters were comparable between the C3F8 and SF6 groups. Conclusion Specific microvascular indices as measured by OCTA were statistically different between the operated and the fellow eyes in the superficial and deep capillary plexus. C3F8 and SF6 as gas tamponades did not seem to differ in their impact on the microvascular parameters.

Quantitative Microvascular Change Analysis Using a Semi-Automated Algorithm in Macula-on Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Assessed by Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

“…Additionally, a negative correlation between the final postoperative BCVA and FAZ area in both SCP [18,21] and DCP [18] was observed. A recent study published by Machairoudia et al [35] found significant changes in the foveal avascular zone in the superficial and deep capillary plexus at 6 months between operated eyes compared to fellow eyes with a moderate correlation with BCVA, and no significant differences in vessel density were observed.…”

Quantitative Microvascular Change Analysis Using a Semi-Automated Software in Macula-off Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Assessed by Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

“…While it was conducted at a single center with a relatively modest sample size and a brief follow-up period, mirroring the scope of many surgical studies in this domain, it is important to highlight that we examined 44 eyes affected by macula off RRD. This sample size surpasses that of comparable studies [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Inherent to the studied pathology, the inability to determine the preoperative OCTA parameters in eyes with macula off RRD limited the metrics comparison after surgery.…”

“…Woo et al [32] reported that FAZ was negatively correlated with BCVA after RRD repair in both macula-on and macula-off eyes. Machairoudia et al [33] found significant changes in the foveal avascular zone in the superficial and deep capillary plexus at 6 months between operated eyes compared to fellow eyes with moderate correlation with BCVA, and no significant differences in vessel density were observed.…”