Retinal toxicity of intraocular silicone oil: a retrospective study

Purpose To determine the relation between the use of silicone oil (SO) as an intraocular tamponade and the incidence of unexplained loss of visual acuity. Methods A retrospective study of 175 patients who underwent SO removal at Department of vitreo‐retinal surgery at Centro Hospitalar São João between January 2012 and June 2015. Results Nine patients (5.1%) (4 male, 5 female), with a median age of 57 years (range 31–84 years) reported reduction of vision of unexplained cause after SO extractions. The median time of SO fill was 8 months (range 4–21 months). Patients with 2 or more lines of vision loss of unexplained cause after removal of silicone oil (ROSO) showed a mean drop of visual acuity of 0.2. The intraocular pressure (IOP) became elevated in 7 (77.8%) eyes during the follow up period. Only 2.9% of patients who underwent ROSO had cataract as a complication. Conclusions There is a 5.1% overall incidence of unexplained loss of vision in eyes following SO removal, with a high rate in women (55.6%). The main complication observed was ocular hypertension.