Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate choroidal structure and vasculature in eyes following scleral buckling (SB) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) compared with fellow eyes and control eyes. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was performed on 84 eyes: 32 eyes in the study group consisting of patients who had undergone SB due to RRD, 32 fellow eyes of the same patients, and 20 normal control eyes. Choroidal structures and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters were measured and compared among the three study groups. RESULTS: In the study group, the mean total choroidal area (0.6816 ± 0.03188 mm(2)) was comparable to the fellow eyes (0.7199 ± 0.03056 mm(2)) and the control group (0.7154 ± 0.17160 mm(2)). Mean outer luminal area was significantly lower in the study group (0.4089 ± 0.00442 mm(2)) than in the fellow eyes (0.4437 ± 0.00701 mm(2)) and the control group (0.4475 ± 0.00442 mm(2)) (P = 0.042, and 0.047, respectively). The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and OCTA parameters were not significantly different in eyes with prior SB compared to the fellow eyes and the control group. CONCLUSION: SB does not significantly affect CVI, choroidal vasculature, and OCTA parameters.