Regeneration of Photoreceptor Outer Segments After Scleral Buckling Surgery for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment.

PURPOSE: To investigate the regeneration of the cone outer segments in eyes after surgery for fovea-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with an adaptive optics (AO) fundus camera and to correlate these findings with the findings of optical coherence tomography (OCT).

DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series.

METHODS: Medical charts of 21 eyes of 21 patients who had undergone surgery for fovea-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were retrospectively studied. Cone mosaic images were obtained with an AO fundus camera. Cone packing density at 2 degrees from the fovea within the previously detached area was measured 6 and 12 months after surgery. Retinal thicknesses between the interdigitation zone and the retinal pigment epithelium (IZ-RPE) and between the ellipsoid zone and the retinal pigment epithelium (EZ-RPE) were measured in OCT images.

RESULTS: Cone density 12 months after surgery was significantly increased from that at 6 months (P = .001), but was still significantly lower than that of normal fellow eyes (P < .001). IZ-RPE and EZ-RPE thickness significantly increased from 6 to 12 months (P = .045, P = .033, respectively), and these values were not significantly different from those of normal fellow eyes. Multivariate analysis showed that cone density at 12 months was significantly associated with IZ-RPE thickness (P = .002), and increases in cone packing density were significantly associated with increases in IZ-RPE thickness (P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Recovery of cone packing density measured by AO was associated with structural recovery of the outer retina observed in OCT, suggesting regeneration of the photoreceptor outer segment after surgery.