The evaluation of choroidal vascular index in the patients undergoing surgical treatment for retinal detachment

To determine the postoperative subfoveal choroidal vascular index (SFCVI) in patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Patients who underwent PPV for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were included in the study. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), including the foveal center, was performed in all patients at the first, third, and sixth months after surgery. This study included 28 patients who underwent PPV for RRD. In 16 eyes, 1000cSt silicone oil (57.1%) and in 12 eyes (42.9%), perfluoropropane (C3F8) gas were utilized as tamponade agents. A statistically significant difference was observed in the SFCVI value between the C3F8 and silicone group at the 3rd month (p = 0.034), but this difference was not significant in the 6th month (p = 0.205). SFCVI was significantly lower in the gas-treated eyes than in the control eyes of the same patients only in the first month (p = 0.003), whereas no significant differences were found in other periods. A comparison of the SFCVI values at the first, third, and sixth months in the silicone group with those in the control group revealed no significant differences (p = 0.65, 0.52, and 0.50, respectively). There was no significant correlation between SFCVI values and BCVA, IOP, and SFCT values in the postoperative examinations of eyes that underwent PPV due to retinal detachment (p > 0.05). Although SFCVI decreases in the early period in patients given C3F8 as tamponade, it returns to normal levels in the late period. New studies are needed to evaluate the possible functional and anatomical consequences of this temporary decrease in the long term.