Comparison of retinal outcomes after scleral buckle or lens-sparing vitrectomy for stage 4 retinopathy of prematurity

PURPOSE: To compare anatomic outcomes after lens-sparing vitrectomy (LSV) or scleral buckle (SB) for stage 4 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). METHODS: Nonrandomized, retrospective study of infants consecutively treated for stage 4 ROP by LSV or SB. Outcomes were retinal attachment at 1 month of initial surgery and at the end of follow-up (6 months) and number of procedures to achieve retinal attachment. Exact chi2 methods determined significance, and student's t-test compared mean postmenstrual age and birthweight between the groups. RESULTS: After one procedure, LSV (72%) was associated with retinal attachment more often than was SB (31%). At the end of follow-up, after one or more procedures, there was no difference in retinal reattachment rate between LSV or SB as the first procedure. There were no differences between the surgical groups by mean postmenstrual age and birthweight or severity of ROP determined by zone, clock hours of ridge elevation, or quadrants of plus disease. CONCLUSION: This study supports the hypothesis that vitrectomy by LSV stops progressive stage 4 ROP. As an initial procedure, LSV was associated with retinal attachment more often than SB. Future prospective studies can determine the effects of LSV and SB on visual development in progressive stage 4 ROP.