Outcomes and complications of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair with pars plana vitrectomy in young adults

Background: Scleral buckling has been the standard for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair in young patients given the typical lack of posterior vitreous detachment, phakic status, and lower risk of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. In older patients, pars plana vitrectomy alone is typically used for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair. We report the outcomes and complications of pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in young eyes. Methods: Retrospective, single-center cohort study. Medical records of patients between 15 to 45 years of age undergoing primary pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair between 2010 and 2020 were carefully reviewed. All analyses were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis tests for numeric covariates between age groups. Results: Eyes were stratified by age: 15–24 (group 1, n = 10), 25–34 (group 2, n = 14), and 35–45 (group 3, n = 38). The average number of surgeries were 1.9, 1.4, and 1.1 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p = 0.004). Single surgery success rates were 50%, 64%, and 92% in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p = 0.005). Final reattachment rates were 80%, 93%, 100% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p = 0.568). Proliferative vitreoretinopathy developed in 50%, 7%, and 8% of eyes in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: While the final reattachment rates were excellent in all groups, the higher rates of proliferative vitreoretinopathy and lower single surgery success rate in younger patients may suggest that primary pars plana vitrectomy may not be the optimal repair method in these age groups.