Longitudinal Assessment of Ellipsoid Zone Recovery Using En Face Optical Coherence Tomography After Retinal Detachment Repair

Purpose Suboptimal functional outcomes following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair may be related to photoreceptor abnormalities including alterations of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) which may not be apparent on cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT). This study assessed EZ recovery using en face OCT following RRD repair and its association with visual acuity. Design Post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Methods Patients with macula-off RRD were followed at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-operatively and annually thereafter. En face OCT of the EZ slab were analyzed. Hyporeflective areas were co-localized with EZ abnormalities on cross-sectional OCT B-Scans and measured by two masked graders. Primary outcome was change in area of EZ hyporeflectivity from 3 to 24 months and its association with ETDRS visual acuity recovery was also assessed. Results 271 images of 61 patients were assessed. Mean area of hyporeflectivity significantly decreased from 3 to 24 months (-2.98 (95%CI,1.82-4.13) mm2, P Conclusions En face OCT provides a novel biomarker for visualizing and quantifying EZ recovery following RRD repair that is associated with ETDRS visual acuity recovery. A steady decline in the area of EZ hyporeflectivity was observed over many years with delayed recovery in patients with longer duration of macula-off.