Dashed line relaxing retinotomy in the management of retinal detachment with anterior proliferative vitreoretinopathy

BACKGROUND: We describe the anatomical and functional outcomes of eyes that underwent a modified technique of relaxing retinotomy, dashed line relaxing retinotomy, in the management of retinal detachment with anterior proliferative vitreoretinopathy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 54 consecutive eyes in 52 patients who received pars plana vitrectomy with relaxing retinotomy during retinal detachment repair. Perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL) was used as a standard procedure to stabilize the retina during retinotomy to prevent slippage or inversion of the posterior flap. If PFCL was not available due to economic reasons, dashed line relaxing retinotomy was performed instead. Best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, lens status, and fundus examination were analyzed. We excluded patients who were followed up <4 months. RESULTS: Regarding anatomical success rates and visual outcomes, we found no significant differences between patients treated with intraoperative PFCL and those treated with dashed line relaxing retinotomy without PFCL. CONCLUSION: Compared to the simple and efficient PFCL-assisted relaxing retinotomy, dashed relaxing retinotomy is not the first choice when PFCL is available. Based on our results, this modified technique may offer an alternative in patients with anterior proliferative vitreoretinopathy for whom PFCL is not available.