Drainge vs. Nondrainage of Suvretinal Fluid in Scleral Buckling Procedure

ABSTRACT

Whether or not to drain the subretinal fluid in retinal detachment surgery remains controversial. The primary advantage of nondrainage procedure is the avoidance of the possible complications associated with transchoroidal drainage, such as choroidal hemorrhage, retinal perforation and loss of formed vitreous. Does the drainage of subretinal fluid itself affect the outcome of surgery? If any, what is the mandatory indication? The authors compared the surgical results of drainate vs. nondrainage of subretinal fluid in scleral buckling procedure to answer these questions. We reviewed preand postoperative characteristics of retinal detachments and the course of subretinal fluid absorption in the 66 eyes of 65 patients who received scleral buckling procedure and were followed up at least 6 months. Retinal reattachment was achieved in 23 eyes of SRF drained 26 eyes(88.4%) and 32 eyes of SRF non-drained 40 eyes(80.0%) after primary operation. The average of time for complete resorption of SFR was 8.04 significant difference was observed between the two groups. Complications associated with drainage were 2 cases of localized subretinal hemorrhage and one case of retinal perforation but did not disturb reattachment of retina. On the basis of these results, we think that placing the buckle correctly is more essential than drainage for successful retinal detachment surgery.