Surgical Results for Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy

We reviewed 88 consecutive eyes that underwent vitrectomy for retinal detachment with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and were followed a minimum of six months. A primary goal of the surgery was the meticulous trimming of the vitreous base in hopes of decreasing the incidence of postoperative reproliferation and anterior PVR. Those eyes with anterior PVR had aggressive release of vitreous base contraction (anteroposterior and circumferential) with intraocular scissors. All posterior tractional membranes were removed. All eyes received long-acting gas for postoperative retinal tamponade. Macular reattachment was achieved in 78 (88.6%) eyes. Forty-six (52.3%) obtained at least 5/200 vision. Seventeen (19%) eyes were re-operated at least once. We compared the importance of initial lens status (pseudophakic, aphakic, phakic), need for relaxing retinotomy, presence of anterior PVR, and history of previous vitrectomy on the anatomic and visual results. No single factor was responsible for a statistically significant effect on either vision or anatomic success, except for the need for a relaxing retinotomy, which carried with it a decreased chance of an eye obtaining 5/200 vision (Fisher's exact test, p=0.03).