Objective: To investigate retinal morphologic changes during silicone oil tamponade and after its removal using spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) imaging.
Materials and methods: Retrospective review of 12 patients who underwent silicone oil tamponade for repair of retinal detachments. Macular OCT scans and volumetric thickness maps were examined qualitatively and quantitatively.
Results: Volumetric OCT revealed two distinct patterns during silicone oil: macular thickening (Group A) and macular thinning (Group B). In Group A, mean foveal thickness (507 ± 169 µm vs. 407 ± 163 µm, p = 0.003) and mean macular volume (11.6 ± 2.4 mm3 vs. 9.9 ± 1.5 mm3) were significantly increased during tamponade compared to post-oil removal. Group B had significantly decreased mean foveal thickness (210 ± 38 µm vs. 276 ± 58 µm, p = 0.009) and macular volume (7.3 ± 1.8 mm3 vs. 8.4 ± 1.8 mm3) during tamponade. Importantly, resolution of macular changes occurred without further intervention and was associated with improved visual acuity in both groups.
Conclusion: Our series suggests that when faced with unexplained macular edema or macular thinning during tamponade, silicone oil removal alone can achieve resolution of these structural changes.
Keywords: Optical coherence tomography; retinal detachment; silicone oil tamponade.