CLINICAL FEATURES AND SURGICAL OUTCOMES OF ENCIRCLING SCLERAL BUCKLING WITH CRYOTHERAPY IN FAMILIAL EXUDATIVE VITREORETINOPATHY-ASSOCIATED RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT.

Purpose: To report the clinical features and surgical outcomes of encircling scleral buckling surgery with cryotherapy in familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) patients with rhegmatogenous RD.

Methods: This study was a consecutive, retrospective interventional case series. Clinical features, including the FEVR stage, proliferative vitreoretinopathy grade, range of RD and degeneration, and presence of retinal breaks, and surgical outcomes, including the success rate, best-corrected visual acuity, and myopic shift, were analyzed.

Results: There were 16 eyes with Stage 3A FEVR and eight eyes with Stage 4A FEVR. 13 eyes had Grade A proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and 11 eyes had Grade B proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Retinal reattachment was achieved in 22 of 24 eyes (91.67%) with FEVR-rhegmatogenous RD after initial encircling scleral buckling surgery. The best-corrected visual acuity improved from a mean of 1.08 ± 0.86 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution preoperatively to 0.45 ± 0.41 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution postoperatively (P < 0.01). A myopic shift of -2.39 ± 1.38 (range, -1 to -6) diopter (P < 0.01) was observed. The mean follow-up period was 34.5 ± 27.7 (range, 7-104) months.

Conclusion: Our study clarified the efficacy of encircling scleral buckling surgery with cryotherapy in FEVR-rhegmatogenous RD with Stage 3A or 4A FEVR and Grade A or B proliferative vitreoretinopathy, especially in patients with multiple retinal holes.