Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment induces more severe macular capillary changes than central serous chorioretinopathy

Abstract

To investigate hemodynamic changes in macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) and its impact on visual prognosis by comparing with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), vascular density in the superficial capillary plexus and deep capillary plexus (DCP) was retrospectively compared with that in contralateral unaffected eyes in macula-off RRD and CSC eyes. In RRD eyes, pre- and postoperative ultra-widefield (UWF) fluorescein angiography (FA) were obtained to analyze vascular changes. In OCTA, both macula-off RRD and CSC eyes showed less density in macular DCP, compared to the unaffected fellow eyes. Compared to CSC, eyes affected by macula-off RRD showed a reduction in DCP vascular density and an increase in foveal avascular zone area, although it had a much shorter macular detachment period. In macula-off RRD, less density of DCP was strongly correlated with longer duration of detachment, greater ellipsoid zone disruption, and poor visual recovery. In UWF-FA, detached retina showed capillary hypoperfusion, venous stasis and leakage, which were improved after reattachment. In conclusion, macular capillary loss of flow, which was associated with photoreceptor disruption, correlated with duration of detachment in RRD. Early reattachment and reperfusion are required for minimizing macular vasculature and photoreceptor damage in macula-off RRD.