Vitreoretinal Surgery Procedures and Results in a Tertiary Eye Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic and National Quarantine Period

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in emergent and elective treatment approaches in medical field, including ophthalmology. The aim of our study is to evaluate the indications, anatomical, and visual results of vitreoretinal surgery (VR) procedures performed during the pandemic and quarantine period. METHODS: VR procedures applied in the treatment of various retinal diseases in a tertiary eye hospital between March 11th and May 31st, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine period were retrospectively reviewed. Indications of the applications, anatomical and visual results, and surgical complications were evaluated. RESULTS: In this period, 197 (59%) of 335 patients who underwent VR procedure were male, 138 (41%) were female. VR procedure was performed frequently in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (48.6%) cases, followed by diabetic tractional retinal detachment (14.0%), complicated vitreous hemorrhage (11%), silicone oil extraction due to silicon-related complications (10%), endophthalmitis (7.5%), vitreoretinal pathologies secondary to trauma (5.8%), nucleus drop (2.1%), and intraocular lens drop (1.5%) cases. The pre-operative mean best corrected visual acuity of cases increased from 0.021+-0.167 to 0.258+-0.213 (p=0.042) logMAR. Local anesthesia was applied to 255 (76.1%) and general anesthesia to 80 (23.9%) of the patients who underwent VR in guideline adhered operating rooms. About 95% (n=318) of the patients were anatomically successful and the retina was reattached. Intraocular pressure fluctuations were the most common complication in patients. Elevated intraocular pressure was observed in 9.8% of the patients who underwent treatment for RRD, and hypotonia was found in 9.3% of the patients who underwent silicone oil extraction. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The visual and anatomical success and complication rates of VR procedures during the COVID-19 period are similar to pre-pandemic period. If appropriate protection, ventilation, and operating room conditions are provided, the risk of contamination for healthcare workers and patients can be minimized and VR interventions may be safely applied.

Keywords

• covid-19
• pandemics
• quarantine
• retinal detachment
• vitreoretinal surgery.