Clinical Images

A macular scar causes significant reduction in the quality of central vision. They can be subretinal or may involve the entire thickness of the retina. An easy way to determine the level of the scar is to look at the retinal vessels. A subretinal scar will have retinal vessels overlying it. Common causes of a subretinal scar are choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Silicone oil is used as an intraocular tamponade after vitreoretinal surgery. Emulsification of silicone oil can be described as the splitting of the larger silicone oil bubble into smaller bubbles and the smaller bubbles no longer being able to coalesce with the larger bubble due to the presence of surfactants or other factors.

Emulsification can occur due to alterations in surface tension, repulsion and change in viscosity. It can also be influenced by the duration of silicone oil inside the eye and the presence of shear forces or turbulence. Among all factors mentioned above, it has been seen that the duration of silicone oil in the eye has the strongest correlation with the occurrence of emulsification.

Emulsification may give rise to a number of complications including corneal decompensation, band keratopathy, acute and chronic changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), lens opacities, epiretinal membrane, retinopathy, optic neuropathy, and extraocular extension.