Time Course of Subretinal Proliferation after Scleral Buckling for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair.

PURPOSE: To observe course of subretinal proliferation (SRP) after scleral buckling (SB) for the rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

METHODS: Fundus photographs and serial optical coherence tomographies (OCTs) were retrospectively analyzed in 10 cases from 9 patients.

RESULTS: Preoperative SRP locations were beneath the retina in six cases, intraretinal in one, and between the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in one. One demonstrated SRP heterogeneity. Final SRP locations were intraretinal in two, on the RPE in seven, and beneath the retina in one. In two, the SRP invaginated into the retina while being absorbed.

CONCLUSIONS: Detached retina can be reattached following retinal break occlusion by SB, although the remaining SRP can disturb the reattachment. OCT images of SRP demonstrated various features. Before surgery, the SRPs were typically strand-like types located beneath the retina. Postoperatively, they were located on the RPE. In some cases, they invaginated into the retina.