Sutureless scleral buckle in the management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

PURPOSE: To evaluate the anatomical and functional outcomes of sutureless scleral buckling for the repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD). DESIGN: Retrospective interventional case series. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 50 eyes of 49 patients with rhegmatogenous RD, who underwent sutureless scleral buckling from January 2009 to March 2013. RESULTS: Primary retinal re-attachment rate of 86% was achieved with single surgery, but final anatomical success was 94% with additional interventions in the form of intravitreal gas, buckle revision, and/or pars plana vitrectomy. Best corrected logarithm of minimum angle of resolution visual acuity improved from 1.44 ± 1.01 preoperatively to 0.50 ± 0.40 at a mean follow-up of 6.7 months. CONCLUSION: Sutureless scleral buckling achieves excellent anatomical and functional success in majority of the patients with rhegmatogenous RD.