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Case Reports
. 2021 Jul 14;13(7):e16387.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.16387. eCollection 2021 Jul.

Hypotony Following Intravitreal Silicone Oil Removal in a Patient With a Complex Retinal Detachment With Giant Retinal Tear

Ilias Gkizis  1 , Christina Garnavou-Xirou  1 , Georgios Bontzos  1 , Georgios Smoustopoulos  1 , Tina Xirou  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hypotony Following Intravitreal Silicone Oil Removal in a Patient With a Complex Retinal Detachment With Giant Retinal Tear

Ilias Gkizis et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Postoperative ocular hypotony after silicone oil removal in complex cases of retinal detachment is a complication that can occur in about 20% of cases and can prevent the successful management of retinal detachments. Thus, it is critical to understand the mechanisms of hypotony and the potential interventions that can be done in order to avoid irreversible tissue damage. We present a case of a 35-year-old man who underwent intraocular surgery for removal of silicone oil tamponade following a combined scleral buckling and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) surgery for a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment associated with a giant retinal tear. On Day 1 after the operation, the patient was found to have hypotony with optic disc edema, chorioretinal folds, and visual acuity of 'hand movement' perception. Two weeks postop, the patient's condition stabilized, with a visual acuity of 0.38 logMAR, an intraocular pressure (IOP) of 12 mmHg, and the absence of macular edema.

Keywords: giant retinal tear; hypotony; retinal detachment; silicone oil removal; vitrectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Fundus photo and OCT scan four days after silicone oil removal
Upper panel: Fundus photo four days after silicone oil removal. Optic disc edema and chorioretinal folds can be observed. Lower panels: IR + OCT scans showing chorioretinal folds. OCT: optical coherence tomography; IR: infrared
Figure 2
Figure 2. Fundus photo and OCT scan 10 days after silicone oil removal
Upper panel: Fundus photo 10 days after removal of silicone oil showing resolution of optic disc edema and of chorioretinal folds. Lower panels: IR + OCT scans showing the disappearance of chorioretinal folds. OCT: optical coherence tomography; IR: infrared
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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