Scleral Buckling Surgery for Retinal Detachment

Risks

Scleral buckling poses some short-term and long-term risks. Most of these complications do not happen very often. Risks include the following:

• The most common cause of failure in surgery for retinal detachment is a type of scarring on the retina, called proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), that can cause the retina to detach again. PVR usually requires additional treatment, including vitrectomy surgery.
• Detachment of the choroid (a part of the tissue that forms the eyeball) or swelling in the retinal area may delay healing.
• The pressure of the scleral buckle can raise the fluid pressure inside the eyeball. People with glaucoma may have a higher risk of this complication.
• Bleeding in the eye can impair vision.
• The eye may become infected. You may need antibiotics and corticosteroids to reduce redness or discharge from the eye and treat the infection. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the buckling implant to treat the infection.
• The plastic or rubber of the buckling device may rub on other parts of the eye, move out of place, or become a site of infection. In some cases, the buckling device may need to be removed.

The surgery may also affect your vision in other ways:

• Since a scleral buckle pushes in on the eye, it can change the shape of the eye. Good vision depends on the shape of the eye. The change caused by a scleral buckle may cause a refractive error that can affect vision. Vision may change for several months after scleral buckling surgery. You should have a follow-up vision exam after about 6 months to check for vision changes. You may need glasses or contact lenses (or a new prescription) to correct the changes.
• The scleral buckle can affect the eye muscles and how well they control the movement of the eyes. This can lead to misaligned eyes (strabismus) and double vision (diplopia).