Assessment of the ocular circulation after scleral buckling by color Doppler imaging

Objective To observe the hemodynamic changes in the eyes of patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment before and after the scleral buckling procedure.Methods HP 8500 color Doppler imaging was used to measure the velocity in the ophthalmic artery(OA)、 central retinal artery(CRA) and short posterior ciliary artery(SPCA) of both eyes in 30 patients with unilateral rhegmatogenous retinal detachments 1 day before and 3 days after the scleral buckle repair. Peak systolic velocity(V max )、 end diastolic velocity(V min )、 and resistance index(RI) of these arteries were measured. Contralateral eyes served as controls. Results Data from these consecutive patients didn't show significant preoperative circulatory abnomalities in either artery compaired with controls(P0.05). V max and V min of CRA and SPCA showed significant postoperative reduction(P0.05), but RI didn't have meaningful change(P0.05). OA blood flow velocity didn't reduce significantly after the surgery. None of the eyes showed ischemic syndrome and expected visual improvement was achieved. Conclusions Color Doppler imaging is a useful tool for the studies of ocular hemodynamic changes. Scleral buckling procedure decrease blood flow in retinal and choroidal tissue for a short time after surgery, however, it does not do great harm to anatomic and functional repairment.