Primary scleral buckling in open-globe injury involving the posterior segment

Purposes To determine whether scleral buckle placement at the time of prima ry repair of open-globe injury of the posterior segment is beneficial. Design: Retrospective; comparative, nonrandomized interventional study. Participants: One hundred twenty-five open-globe injuries treated at the Du ke University Medical Center from June 1980 to May 1997. Methods: Open-glob e injuries were classified with the Open-globe Injury Classification. Eyes that had zone 2 and 3 injuries that had a primary buckle placed were compar ed with those that did not. Main Outcome Measures: Subsequent retinal detachment, visual outcome, and n eed for subsequent scleral buckling. Results: The rate of retinal detachment and the visual outcome were similar in the two groups. More than half of those who did not have a primary buck le placed had subsequent scleral buckling surgery. Conclusions: Many open-globe injuries of the posterior segment require even tual scleral buckle. There may be a role for placement of a scleral buckle at the time of primary repair. Ophthalmology 2000;107:1923-1926 (C) 2000 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.