Association between retinal vessel density and postoperative time after primary repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Abstract

The study aimed at a quantitative evaluation of macular vasculature after primary repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in correlation with the elapsed postoperative time. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) was performed in 66 eyes of 33 patients in a retrospective case-control study: superficial and deep retinal vessel density (VD) of the whole image, fovea, parafovea, non-flow area, and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) were measured. Data of eyes with RRD were compared to the healthy fellow eyes in 3 groups according to the elapsed time after surgery: RD1: 6-12 months (n = 10), RD2: 1-2 years (n = 10), and RD3: 2-10 years (n = 13). In RD1 VD was significantly lower in the superficial parafoveal, deep parafoveal, and deep whole area compared to the fellow eyes. In RD3 VD was significantly lower in the superficial fovea, parafovea, whole image, and deep fovea, the non-flow area was significantly enlarged. OCT-A demonstrated a significant reduction in the superficial and deep regions of the macular vasculature after the repair of RRD. The deep area is more affected in the early postoperative period and the superficial region and the extent of the non-flow area are more involved after a longer postoperative time.