A randomized prospective study of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment cases treated with cryopexy versus frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser-retinopexy during episcleral surgery

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of cryopexy versus transpupillary frequency-doubled (532 nm) Nd:YAG laser-retinopexy according to anatomic and functional success and postoperative complications. Methods: Seven hundred three patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were enrolled. They underwent scleral-buckling surgery using randomly transpupillary frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser or cryotherapy for retinopexy: patients were observed for a period of 6 months. The primary outcome was anatomic success at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included anterior segment complications, posterior segment complications, and postoperative visual acuity. Results: There was no significant difference between the primary and secondary outcomes in the two treatment groups: the anatomic success rate was 83% in the transpupillary frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser group and 83.1% in the cryotherapy group; the rate of postoperative complications and the postoperative visual acuity results are also similar in the two groups; the only barely statistically significant difference (P = 0.045) was the rate of macular holes, which were present only in five myopic patients treated with transscleral cryopexy. Conclusion: Transpupillary frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser retinopexy, as cryopexy, served as a safe and effective means of creating chorioretinal adhesion during retinal reattachment surgery. The rate of postoperative complications was not influenced by the type of retinopexy