Unusual presentation of residual subretinal fluid composition after surgery for acute rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

The purpose of this paper is to report an unusual case of accumulation of residual subretinal fluid after surgery for acute rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, sparing the fovea. A 28-year-old male presented with a four-day history of acute visual loss in his right eye secondary to bulbous rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, sparing the fovea. The patient underwent an uneventful pars plana vitrectomy and scleral buckling procedure. At four weeks postoperatively (after complete gas resorption), the visual acuity was 20/40. However, the patient complained of blurred vision. A dilated fundus examination showed a fat retina and the presence of multiple yellowish subretinal deposits resembling vitelliform lesions in the macula. Some lesions were encroaching on the fovea, and were connected via a tract to a previous horseshoe tear with evidence of a thin layer of subretinal fluid. The patient symptoms persisted for one year postoperatively. However, the retina remained fat with evidence of retinal pigment epithelium mottling and faint scars corresponding to previous lesions. Persistent subretinal fluid with thick subretinal precipitate can occur even after successful surgery for acute retinal detachment sparing the fovea and cause visual dysfunction.