Characteristics and surgical outcomes of giant retinal tear associated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Giant retinal tear-associated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (GRT-RRD) presents a significant surgical challenge. Trauma stands out as one of the risk factors. This retrospective case series aims to assess the outcomes of GRT-RRD patients treated with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), distinguishing between non-trauma and blunt ocular trauma cases. The medical records and relevant retinal imaging of 60 GRT-RRD patients undergoing PPV and followed with a mean (SD) of 21.2 (13.4) months were reviewed (47 were non-trauma-related and 13 were trauma-related). Both the non-trauma and trauma groups exhibited comparable distribution of proliferative vitreoretinopathy grade (P = 0.067). Following the primary operation, there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients achieving single surgery anatomical success between the non-trauma group (27/47 patients, 57.5%) and the trauma-related group (9/13 patients, 69.2%) (P = 0.534). At the final follow-up, 17 patients remained tamponade with silicone oil. Among the remaining 43 patients, 33/34 patients (97.1%) in the non-trauma group and 9/9 patients (100%) in the non-trauma group (P = 0.661) achieved comparable final surgical anatomical success. Additionally the final vision was comparable between the two trauma categories (Snellen equivalent of 20/125 for the non-trauma group and 20/200 for the trauma group, P = 0.331). In multivariable regression, no significant factors related to primary reattachment rate or final vision were identified. Non-penetrating ocular trauma did not emerge as a significant risk factor for recurrent detachment post-surgery. This study supports that PPV outcomes in GRT-RRD patients are unaffected by the ocular trauma association and reports the effectiveness of PPV in managing these patients.