Retinal detachment still a common problem

Article

Retinal detachment is still the most common serious complication of macular surgery.

Retinal detachment is still the most common serious complication of macular surgery, according to a report published in the October issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Alexandre Guillaubey and colleagues from University Hospital Dijon and University Hospital Nancy, France conducted a retrospective, non-randomized study of 634 macular surgery procedures (idiopathic macular hole surgery [IMH] n=272; epiretinal membrane surgery [ERM] n=362).

No retinal detachment was seen in patients presenting with an intraoperative or preoperative successfully treated retinal break. There was a higher rate of retinal detachment occurring after IMH surgery than after ERM surgery (6.6% versus 2.5%, p=0.02) and furthermore, the rate of retinal detachment was higher in patients presenting with stage 2 and 3 IMH than with stage 4 IMH.

The results demonstrate that retinal detachment is still a common complication following macular surgery and that surgical detachment of the posterior vitreous face and associated peripheral retina anomaly appear to increase the rate of this complication. The authors of this study suggest that careful examination of the peripheral retina is essential in helping to prevent this complication.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
A photo of Seville, Spain, with the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology logo superimposed on it. Image credit: ©francovolpato – stock.adobe.com; logo courtesy COPHy
Anat Loewenstein, MD, Professor and Director, Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, discusses the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology (COPHy)
Anat Loewenstein, MD, speaks about the 22nd Annual Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration Meeting in February 2025 and shares her global forecast for AI-driven home OCT
Sarah M. Thomasy, DVM, PhD, DACVO, a veterinary ophthalmologist at UC Davis, talks about how her research at the Glaucoma 360 symposium
I. Paul Singh, MD, an anterior segment and glaucoma specialist, discusses the Glaucoma 360 conference, where he participated in a panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in glaucoma care.
Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD, discusses his Floretina ICOOR presentation topic, retinal non-perfusion in diabetic retinopathy, with David Hutton, editor of Ophthalmology Times
Elizabeth Cohen, MD, discusses the Zoster Eye Disease study at the 2024 AAO meeting
Victoria L Tseng, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and glaucoma specialist, UCLA
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.