Effect of surgical modality on visual outcomes for young patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments: a retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo examine outcomes of different surgical modalities for correcting primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments in patients younger than 50 years of age.Methods and analysisA single-centre, retrospective, cohort study of 754 patients who underwent retinal surgery at the University of Virginia Hospital between 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2020 was conducted. Exclusion criteria were patients less than 18 or over 50 years of age, repeat detachments, second eyes of patients with bilateral detachments and follow-up less than 3 months. A multivariate regression model was used to compare overall outcomes in patients.Results86 patients met inclusion criteria and of those, 38 (44%) underwent vitrectomy, 22 (26%) underwent scleral buckling, 13 (15%) underwent pneumatic retinopexy and 13 (15%) underwent combined scleral buckle and vitrectomy repair. Comparison of eye-level parameters among the procedure groups shows difference with respect to macular involvement (p0.05). Preoperative visual acuity was superior in the scleral buckle group compared with vitrectomy (p