OCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF SILICONE OIL

Abstract

bjective: Silicone oil (SO) is an invaluable tool in the management of complex retinal detachments (RDs).
Injection of silicone oil is associated with a variety of ocular complications specially when it is kept for a long time and its removal is endangering retinal re-detachment. The objective of this study was to determine the frequencies of different ocular complications associated with silicone oil injection in our setup.
Study Design: Case series.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Vitreo-retina division of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi from January 2014 to June 2014. Material and Methods: A total of 30 patients were included in the study who underwent pars-planavitrectomy (PPV) with silicone oil injection for complex retinal detachments. The patients who had reached between 3 months & 6 months of their postoperative period and were presenting with some complications related to silicone oil injection were included in the study. Their records were reviewed and pre-operative data were collected regarding state of the eye preoperatively. Then the post-operative complications were noted. The descriptive and analytical statistics of different variables were measured using SPSS-17.0 software.
Results: Out of thirty patients included in our study 23 (76.7%) were male and 7 (23.3%) were female. The mean age was 21.53 ± 16.004 years and range was 66 years. The mean pre-operative intra-ocular pressure ( IOP) was 14.0 ± 2.150 mmHg and range 8 mmHg and the mean post-operative IOP was 24.93 ± 13.889 mmHg and range 45 mmHg (p=0.001. The pre-operative PVR grade-C was absent in 12 (40%) patients and was present in 18 (60%) patients and post-operative PVR grade-C was absent in 24 (80%) patients and was present in 6 (20%) patients (p=0.004; McNemar test). Band keratopathy was seen in 8 (26.7%) and corneal decompensation in 2 (6.7%) patients. Emulsification of silicone oil was seen in 14 (46.7%) patients. Rubeosisiridis was present in 2 (6.7%) patients.
Conclusion: Apart from other complications, raised intraocular pressure is a significant postoperative complication of eyes with silicone oil injection, so should be kept in mind because if not addressed properly it may lead to irreversible blindness in these cases.