Changes in axial length, central cornea thickness, and anterior chamber depth after rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to measure changes in anterior chamber depth (ACD), central cornea thickness (CCT), and axial length (AL) after scleral buckle (SB) surgery or pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for the repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD).

METHODS: We prospectively reviewed the records of 245 eyes of 245 patients scheduled to undergo SB surgery and 238 eyes of 238 patients scheduled to undergo PPV. ACD, CCT, and AL were measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and biometry, before surgery as well as 6 and 12 months postoperatively.

RESULTS: For both SB and PPV surgeries, ACD was observed to decrease significantly postoperatively, with this trend continuing throughout the follow-up period (p < 0.005). CCT showed no significant difference after PPV or SB surgery. AL increased significantly after SB surgery but not PPV.

CONCLUSION: Our results show that SB surgery altered the shape of the eye by changing both ACD and AL. PPV resulted in altered ACD. These findings should elucidate the changes to be expected after SB and PPV surgeries.