Value of optical coherence tomography in the detection of macular pathology before the removal of silicone oil

PURPOSE: To assess the pathological macular changes with optical coherence tomography (OCT) before the removal of silicone oil (SiO) in eyes that had undergone pars plana vitrectomy for complicated forms of retinal detachment (RD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subjects included 48 patients (51 eyes) with complicated RD including proliferative vitreoretinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, recurrent RD, penetrating trauma, uveitis, giant retinal tears, and macular holes. All the eyes had undergone SiO injection. Furthermore, all eyes had been planned for the removal of SiO 6–12 months after the primary surgery. Finally, all eyes had a fundus examination and OCT examination before the silicone oil removal. RESULTS: OCT findings indicated epiretinal membrane in 41% of the eyes, macular edema in 17%, macular detachment in 13.5%, macular thinning in 13.5%, macular holes in 10%, and subretinal membranes in 2%. Preoperative OCT was normal in only 12% of the eyes, while a clinical fundus examination was normal in 43% (P<0.001). Eyes with normal OCT had significantly better mean logMAR (0.35) than eyes with pathological changes detected through OCT (1.28; P<0.001). Surgical modifications were made during the removal of SiO in 74.5% of the eyes. CONCLUSION: OCT detected significantly more pathological changes than a clinical fundus examination. This had an impact on both surgical step modification during the removal of SiO and predictability of visual outcome after the removal of SiO.