The Changes of the Visual Evoked Potentials and Visual Acuity after Silicone Oil Removal in the Vitrectomized Eyes

ABSTRACT

To know the effect of the intravitreal silicone oil affecting the visual evoked potentials (VEPs), we reviewed 19 patient's charts retrospectively. All patients had received pars plana vitrectomies with intravitreal silicone oil injection. The oil was removed after a few months of intravitreal silicone oil. The eyes showing operative or postoperative complication were excluded in this study. The VEPs and visual acuity were tested one day before and two weeks after intravitreal silicone oil removal. The changes of VEPs and visual acuities between the pre- and post-silicone oil removal were analized. And the changes of VEPs according to the changes of the visual acuities in the pre- and post-silicone oil removal were analized with student t-Test and Spearman corelation. The VEPs amplitudes decreased significantly (p=0.03) after silicone oil removal, and the latencies increased slightly but statistically not significant. The findings suggested that intravitreal surgery itself may influence the VEPs. After removal of intravitreal silicone oil, no significant relationship was found between the changes of VEPs and those of visual acuities.