Title: <p>Combined pars plana vitrectomy with phacoemulsification for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair</p>
Abstract: To investigate the outcome after combined phaco-vitrectomy in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair.In this retrospective study, we included all patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for RRD between January 2013 and December 2017. The main outcome measure was the retinal re-detachment rate after combined phaco-vitrectomy.Overall, 1017 eyes with RRD were included. All eyes received PPV, while in 516 eyes additional phacoemulsification was performed. A retinal re-detachment occurred in 103 patients (10.1%). No significant difference in the rate of re-detachment was found if additional phacoemulsification was performed (p=0.641). Subgroup calculations showed a significant higher rate of re-detachment in patients with a PVR (p=0.0003) and in patients where silicone oil was used as primary tamponade (p=0.0001) as well as in macula off RRDs (p=0.034).Additional phacoemulsification during vitrectomy for RRD is not associated with higher rate of retinal re-detachment.