INTRAOPERATIVE OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FOR REAL-TIME VISUALIZATION OF THE POSITIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUCKLING MATERIAL AND RETINAL BREAKS DURING SCLERAL BUCKLING FOR RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT.

Purpose: To report the usefulness of a new surgical method using intraoperative optical coherence tomography that can more accurately place the buckling material for scleral buckling using a noncontact wide-angle viewing system with a cannula-based chandelier endoilluminator for the treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Methods: The medical records of 12 eyes of 11 patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment treated with scleral buckling combined with real-time intraoperative optical coherence tomography observation were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Real-time observations of the positional relationship between the protrusion of buckling material and retinal breaks with intraoperative optical coherence tomography revealed that retinal breaks were not properly placed on the protrusion of the buckling material in five eyes, requiring the intraoperative repositioning of the buckling material. Eventually, the scleral buckling combined with real-time intraoperative optical coherence tomography observation yielded the initial anatomical success rates of 100% without noteworthy intraoperative or postoperative complications.

Conclusion: This procedure is a novel approach that enables safer and more accurate placement of the buckling material and may contribute to improving the outcomes of scleral buckling in the future.