Visual acuity inadequately reflects vision-related quality of life in patients after macula-off retinal detachment surgery

Abstract

PURPOSE. To determine the impact of postoperative visual function on the vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in patients after anatomically successful surgery for macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) and to propose a classification to grade the extent of macular detachment using preoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. METHODS. This prospective study evaluated 48 patients. At 12 months after surgery, visual function assessments were as follows: metamorphopsia (M-CHARTS), aniseikonia (New Aniseikonia Test), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS]), low contrast BCVA (10% ETDRS), color vision (Hardy Rand Rittler), and stereopsis (Titmus Fly). VRQoL was assessed by the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 (NEIVFQ-25). Associations between visual function parameters and NEIVFQ-25 scores were evaluated. Preoperative OCT-scans were classified into six stages according to the extent of macular detachment based on an ETDRS-grid: incomplete perifoveal detachment (1), incomplete parafoveal detachment (2), incomplete foveal detachment (3), complete foveal detachment (4), complete parafoveal detachment (5), and complete perifoveal detachment (6). RESULTS. General vision and driving were the lowest scoring categories. General vision had the strongest correlation with low contrast BCVA (r = −0.41, P = 0.002), while driving had the strongest correlation with stereopsis (r = −0.39, P = 0.008). All macular detachments were graded stage 3 or beyond. Patients with stage 3 macular detachments had the highest visual function values compared to the other stages. The highest percentage of patients with metamorphopsia, aniseikonia and BCVA>0.1 logMAR was found in stages 5 and 6. CONCLUSIONS. Macula-off RRD particularly affects general vision and driving. The extent of macular detachment is a potential predictor for visual function and can be graded using the proposed classification.