The article titled “Scleral Buckle Removal: Long-term Patient Outcomes” by Palak Patel et al. in Ophthalmol Retina (2023) presents a retrospective observational study on scleral buckle removal and its outcomes. The study involved 86 individuals with a history of scleral buckle removal from June 1st, 2000 to January 1st, 2021.

The main indications for removal were exposure (61.63%), infection (20.93%), and diplopia/strabismus (19.77%).

The average time from scleral buckle placement to removal was 12.28 ± 11.16 years. Patients often presented with symptoms like pain, discomfort, diplopia, and drainage/discharge.

Symptom resolution occurred in 86.59% of cases following scleral buckle removal.

Around 6.56% of eyes experienced re-detachment requiring surgery after at least 1 year of follow-up, with an average time to re-detachment of 15.95 ± 25.71 months.

About 9% of eyes required additional strabismus or oculoplastic surgery. The study concludes that scleral buckle removal offers significant symptomatic relief and a low risk of subsequent detachment, although careful monitoring is necessary to detect recurrent retinal detachments.

(Palak Patel et al., Ophthalmol Retina, 2023)