This 72YO male presented with this macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).
Optos color imaging shows a prominent star fold inferotemporally. This detachment was repaired with vitrectomy and membrane peeling.
Learning Points:
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), which consists of cellular membranes growing on either retinal surface, develops in about 5-10% of retinal detachments.
The membranes contract and foreshorten the retina, likely as an aberrant wound-healing response.
There are no proven pharmacologic therapies to prevent or treat PVR. These complex detachments can be managed with vitrectomy and membrane peeling, retinectomy, scleral buckling, and silicone oil. However, PVR remains the main cause for ultimate retinal reattachment surgical failure.
See Garweg et al Surv Ophthalmol 2013;48:321-329 for a good review of PVR pathophysiology.
