Purpose: To investigate the incidence of postsurgical retinal displacement in patients treated with pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and to assess the influence of displacement on macular function.
Methods: Observational prospective study of 20 consecutive cases of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment who underwent 23-G pars plana vitrectomy with gas (C3F8 or SF6) tamponade, and prone resting. Three months after surgery, retinal displacement was evaluated by fundus autofluorescence. Macular function was evaluated with optical coherence tomography, multifocal electroretinogram, best-corrected visual acuity, and stereopsis.
Results: Postoperative retinal displacement was observed in 60% of cases. No correlation between the type of tamponade used and retinal displacement was observed. Similarly, no association between retinal displacement and postoperative stereopsis or visual acuity was found. A lower amplitude in P1 wave on the multifocal electroretinogram was observed in eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment compared with the contralateral eye. However, no statistically significant differences between groups with or without retinal displacement were found.
Conclusion: Retinal displacement in patients who undergo pars plana vitrectomy to treat rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is common. However, this displacement does not seem to affect macular function.