IMPACT OF MACULAR DETACHMENT DURATION IN REGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT ON VISUAL ACUITY IN POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD

Introduction. Regmatogenous retinal detachment is a pathology leading to inevitable loss of visions. Although the anatomical success rate of retinal repair is high, the postoperative functional results are dissatisfying for most patients, leading to deterioration in their social life. Identifying new causes of incomplete visual recovery will help shed new light on this problem. Objective. This study aims at identifying and evaluating the effect of the duration of macular detachment in regmatogenous retinal detachment macula-off on postoperative best-corrected visual acuity. Material and Methods. The study involved 56 patients with primary regmatogenous retinal detachment. All of them underwent surgical treatment (posterior subtotal vitrectomy). Five groups of patients were formed according to the duration of regmatogenous retinal detachment. Follow-up examinations were conducted at day 1, week 1, week 2, one month, and three months. Best-corrected visual acuity was the main study parameter. Results. Statistically significant functional outcomes were observed in 80% of patients who were operated on within 1 to 15 days of the onset of retinal detachment (groups I and II). In group III, 31.6% of patients achieved better best-corrected visual acuity compared with the functional results of groups IV and V at the end of the 3-month follow-up period. The best-corrected visual acuity in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 was only detected in 48.48% of patients who were operated on in the first two weeks after detachment compared with those who were operated on later. Conclusions. High functional outcomes depend on the duration of the preoperative period. The best results were obtained in patients with short-term retinal detachment, namely, surgical treatment after the first two weeks of complaints (p<0.01). Functional outcomes are directly proportional to the duration of macular detachment, the longer the duration of detachment, the worse the best-corrected visual acuity (p < 0.05).