Changes in Retinal Vessel and Retinal Layer Thickness After Vitrectomy in Retinal Detachment via Swept-Source OCT Angiography

Abstract

Purpose: To compare postvitrectomy retinal and choroidal vessel density (VD) and retinal layer thickness between eyes with macula-off and macula-on rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to identify OCTA factors associated with visual outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 31 eyes that underwent pars plana vitrectomy for primary RRD. Eyes with macula-off and macula-on RRD were compared with healthy fellow eyes. Both OCT and OCTA were performed 6 months after surgery, and the macula-off RRD group was divided into two subgroups according to the presence of an outer retinal defect. The correlations between postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 6 months and SS-OCT and OCTA measurements were analyzed.

Results: Twenty eyes with macula-off RRD and 11 eyes with macula-on RRD were included. In the macula-off RRD group, the central retinal thickness was significantly decreased 6 months postoperatively compared with the fellow eyes (228.9 ± 29.7 µm and 253.6 ± 27.7 µm, P = 0.009). In the outer retinal defect group, the choriocapillaris plexus (CCP) VD was significantly decreased compared with the fellow eyes (56.4% ± 4.8% and 60.2% ± 4.0%, P = 0.026). In the macula-off RRD group, the postoperative BCVA at 6 months correlated significantly with the ratio of the center CCP VD of the detached eyes to that of the fellow eyes (R2 = 0.207, P = 0.025).

Conclusions: The CCP VD could be related to the anatomical restoration of the outer retinal layer in macula-off RRD. The CCP VD as determined by OCTA could be an indicator of the visual outcome after surgery in macula-off RRD.