To evaluate the visual prognosis and time course of the foveal reattachment according to operation methods and preoperative factors using optical coherence tomography (OCT) after successful reattachment surgery in cases of macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

From Jan 2006 to Aug 2008, 47 patients who underwent retinal reattachment surgery for macula-off retinal detachment who were followed up for more than 12 months were enrolled in this study. Thirty patients underwent vitrectomy, and 17 patients underwent a scleral buckle procedure. Ophthalmological examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp examination, fundus examination, and OCT, were performed before surgery and at 1, 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery.

The foveal reattachment time was shorter after vitrectomy than after the buckle procedure ( p <0.05). Postoperative visual acuity was better when the height of the detached fovea, as viewed by OCT, was shorter, although foveal reattachment time was not related to visual prognosis.

OCT may help to predict visual outcome and to assess macular changes in patients with macula-off retinal detachment after successful reattachment surgery.