Surgical treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with inferior breaks using gas tamponade of the vitreal cavity

Purpose: to evaluate the efficacy of tamponade of a vitreous cavity with gas-air mixture in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in the lower hemisphere. Materials and Methods. We examined and operated on 52 patients with RRD with the localization of the discontinuities in the lower hemisphere: 30 patients with RRD with involvement of macula and 22 patients with RRD without macular involvement. All patients underwent general and special ophthalmological examination. Standard surgical treatment of retinal detachment finalized with injection of gas-air mixture into the vitreal cavity was performed. Results. In all cases, patients with RRD without involvement of macula and in 27 cases of RRD with involvement of macula there was a full adherence of the retina. In 3 cases patients with RRD involving the macula underwent repeat surgery with tamponade of the vitreous cavity with silicone, after which the retina adherence was finally observed. Close relationship between the improvement of visual acuity in patients 6 months after the operation and reduction in retinal thickness. Conclusion. The obtained results demonstrate the possibility of using gas tamponade of the vitreous cavity in RRD surgery with localization of rupture in the lower hemisphere.