Surgical outcomes of 27-gauge pars plana vitrectomy with short-term postoperative tamponade of perfluorocarbon liquid for repair of giant retinal tears

To investigate the use of 27-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with short-term tamponade of perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL) for repair of giant retinal tears (GRT). Retrospective case series study. Consecutive patients with GRT were treated with 27-gauge PPV and short-term tamponade of PFCL for 7-10 days. PFCL was completely removed with a secondary surgery. Twenty-three eyes of 23 patients were included. All the patients achieved primary anatomic success. Preoperative logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA was 1.59 +/- 0.58 (Snellen 20/778). Five (21.7%), nine (39.1%), eleven (47.8%) and fifteen (65.2%) eyes experienced vision improvement at the Month-1, Month-3, Month-6 and final follow-ups, respectively. The final logMAR BCVA was 0.84 +/- 0.51 (Snellen 20/138), being statistically better than the preoperative one (P < 0.001). Surgical complications included foreign body response (n = 7), transient elevated intraocular pressure (n = 5), cataract formation/deterioration (n = 11) and posterior capsule opacity (n = 16). 27-Gauge PPV with short-term tamponade of PFCL is safe and effective for the repair of GRT. Side effects of the surgery mainly included foreign body response, transient elevated intraocular pressure, cataract formation/deterioration and posterior capsule opacity.