Clinical observation of the causes of metamorphopsia after scleral buckling surgery / 中华眼底病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the causes of the metamorphopsia in patients with reattached retina after scleral buckling surgery. Methods Amsler grid test, ophthalmoscopic examination, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed on 79 patients (79 eyes) with reattached retina at the 2nd week, 2nd, 6th month and 1st year after scleral buckling operation. Results Two weeks after the operation, 51 patients (51 eyes, 64.56%) complained of metamorphopsia, and 44 patients (44 eyes, including 35 with and 9 without metamorphopsia) were examined by OCT and FFA. In patients with metamorphopsia, the results of OCT in 31 (88.57%) revealed abnormal macula with seven kinds consisting mostly of stratum neuroepithelium detachment (74.29%), while of FFA in 6 patients showed abnormal macular (17.14%) including 4 with neuroepithelium detachment (66.67%). In patients without metamorphopsia, abnormal macula could be found in 2 by OCT while nothing special was seen in FFA. Most abnormal macula in patients followed-up 2 months, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively meliorated as time went by, with alleviative or disappeared metamorphopsia; while the patients with persistently existing macular membrane had aggravating metamorphopsia. Conclusions Abnormal macula is the main reason for metamorphopsia after scleral buckling surgery. Neuroepithelium detachment and macular membrane are the main causes of metamorphopsia at the early and terminal stage after operation.