Silicone oil (SO) is a safe and widely used intraocular tamponade agent for treating complicated vitreoretinal diseases, such as retinal detachments (RRDs) with inferior proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). However, as the human vitreous cavity is irregularly shaped, it is difficult to predict the area of the inferior retina covered with SO and the retro-oil fluid currents in each patient. Here, we performed fluid simulation analysis using the moving particle semi-implicit method on the oil cover rates and absolute velocity gradient of retro-oil fluid to the retina using vitreous cavity models derived from magnetic resonance imaging of patients to determine the appropriate amount of SO and postoperative position to achieve a sufficient tamponade effect on the inferior retina. In all seven vitreous cavity models tested, the inferior quadrant of the retina was completely covered by SO in more positions and the absolute velocity gradient of the retro-oil fluid in contact with the retinal wall caused by eye and head movements was lower when the vitreous cavity was filled with 95% SO and 5% retro-oil fluid versus 80% SO and 20% retro-oil fluid. Taken together, these findings have clinical implications for the treatment of complicated RRDs with inferior PVR requiring SO tamponade.
© 2022. The Author(s).