Lower visual acuity improvements with silicone oil in comparison to gas tamponades in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair: twelve-month results of 151 patients

Purpose:To compare the effect of different endotamponades on primary surgical success rate and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).Methods: A total of 151 patients who received pars plana vitrectomy for RRD between the years 2018 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed.Patients were divided into three groups: 20% Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), 14% octafluoropropane (C3F8), and silicone oil groups (SiO).Reattachment of the retina after six months of SiO removal was accepted as a surgical success in the SiO group.Primary and final surgical success rates, secondary PVR development, secondary glaucoma, and BCVA values at 12 months were noted and compared between the groups. Results:The mean age was 61.910.3, and 69 (45.2%) patients were female.Primary surgical success rates were 91.9%, 97.6%, and 90.4% in SF6, C3F8, and SiO groups, respectively (p=0.361).All groups have significant BCVA improvements postoperatively compared to baseline BCVA (p<0.001 for all).Although there was no significant difference regarding the BCVA at baseline between the groups (p=0.685), the SF6 and C3F8 groups showed higher BCVA improvement than the SiO group postoperatively (p=0.004,p=0.041, respectively).In logistic regression analysis, only the initial PVR was a statistically significant factor in overall surgical success (p=0.011).Secondary glaucoma was not detected in any gas endotamponade cases, whereas in six patients (8.2%) in the SiO group (p=0.036).Conclusions: Similar primary anatomical success rates were found between the three endotamponades; however, both C3F8 and SF6 gas tamponades were superior to the SiO group regarding BCVA.