J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2021 Jul;62(7):969-975. 10.3341/jkos.2021.62.7.969.

Analysis of the Changes in Retinal Thickness in Eyes Undergoing Vitrectomy with Silicone Oil Tamponade

• Kim JH
• Yoon YS
• Woo JM
• Min JK

• KMID: 2518500
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2021.62.7.969

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate changes in the retinal layer thickness in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) and intraocular foreign body (IOFB) patients undergoing successful pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with silicone oil tamponade.
Methods
This retrospective study included 28 eyes of 28 patients (RRD: 24 patients; IOFB: 4 patients) that were successfully repaired with PPV with silicone oil tamponade. The thickness measurements of the total retina, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) were performed with swept-source optical coherence tomography in nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study subfields, using the wide three-dimensional mode before and after silicone oil tamponade removal. The measurements were compared and differences were analyzed with respect to normal fellow eyes.
Results
The RNFL and GC-IPL thickness measurements decreased remarkably as the silicone oil tamponade period progressed, compared with the thickness of the total retinal layer. The average thicknesses of the total retina, RNFL, and GC-IPL were significantly greater in eyes in which the silicone oil had been removed than in those in which the silicone oil remained.
Conclusions
Silicone oil tamponade can change the thickness of the retina layer. The longer the silicone oil is tamponaded, the more significant the reduction in thickness of the inner retinal layer.

Keyword

Ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, Retinal nerve fiber layer, Silicone oils, Swept-source optical coherence tomography