Spontaneous resolution of a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Abstract

A retinal detachment is the term used to describe detachment of the neurosensory retina from the underlying membrane, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Rhegmatogenous detachments are caused by a break in the retina through which fluid passes from the vitreous cavity into the subretinal space. The incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in the general population in Europe is 1 in 10 000 persons per year. Danger is the greatest in the age range from 55 to 70 years. Without treatment, blindness in the affected eye may occur. Individual risks depend on the presence or absence of specific factors including myopia, positive family anamnesis, retina rupture, trauma, ablation in the other eye, ablation in a vitreous body, retina high-risk peripheral degenerations and vitreoretinal degenerations. Majority of the untreated rhegmatogenous retina ablations progress to the subtotal or total retinal detachment and blindness. This paper describes a very rare case of the spontaneous complete reattachment of the sensory retina to the retinal pigment epithelium in a patient with the total rhegmatogenous retinal ablation in the right eye. The female patient, who was 52 years old, was examined by an Ophthalmologist after she had experienced a sudden loss of vision, 2 months before appointment. After a detailed ophthalmological examination, a total rhegmatogenous retinal ablation of the right eye was diagnosed. The best corrected visual acuity, evaluated on a Snellen chart, was 2/60. The patient was referred to a tertiarylevel Institution since a surgical intervention of the ablation was needed. Due to technical inabilities in the above-mentioned Institution, the operation was not performed, and despite the recommendation to perform the intervention in another tertiary-level Institution, the patient did not have ophthalmological examinations during the following three months. During the next visit, the Ophthalmologist determined that there was a spontaneous retinal fixation on the retinal pigment epithelium and a partial restoration of the visual function of the affected eye which was evaluated at 0.5.