Adult retinopathy of prematurity - Outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments and retinal tears

Purpose: To describe the results of retinal tears and rhegmatogenous retina l detachments (RD) in adults with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Design: Noncomparitive interventional case series. Methods: Retrospective cohort of 216 eyes of 108 patients, 15 years or olde r, followed for up to 23 years (median, 6.2 years). Results: One eye was initially seen with an RD, and during follow-up 30 eye s had an RD develop. An additional surgical procedure was required in 7 of the 31 eyes (23%) with an RD. Four eyes were initially seen with retinal te ars, and during follow-up 19 eyes had a retinal tear develop, Seven of the 23 eyes (30%) with a retinal tear had initial repair fail. Eyes with minima l cicatricial changes from ROP were still at high risk for tears and detach ments developing. Eighty percent of eyes with retinal tears and 60% of eyes with an RD that started with vision > 20/60 maintained that level of visio n at the final examination. Conclusion: In patients with a history of premature birth, features of fund us examinations do not correlate with the occurrence of a retinal tear or R D. Repair of a tear or detachment in such a patient is more likely to requi re multiple procedures but can still be associated with good visual results . Physicians should consider widespread relief of vitreoretinal traction fo r a tear or detachment in any patient with a history of premature birth.