Patient selection: foreign body in the posterior segment
Operation to remove the object: pars plana vitrectomy
Surgical failure was defined as a postoperative retinal detachment.
Risk factors for a postoperative retinal detachment:
(1) delay before removal of foreign body
(2) presence of preoperative intraocular hemorrhage
(3) presence of preoperative retinal detachment
(4) primary surgical repair at the time of foreign body removal
There was considerable overlap between good and poor outcome groups if surgery was done in the first week after injury. A delay of more than 8 days was associated with a greater risk for post-operative retinal detachment. Delay was also associated with an increased risk for endophthalmitis.
The risk associated with primary surgical repair could be due to (a) a high percentage of cases with the cornea being the entry point or (b) bias related to being a referral center.
Most patients who experienced a postoperative retinal detachment (90%) had successful retinal attachment after a second vitrectomy.
