PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of heavy silicone oils as endotamponades in the repair of primary complex rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. METHODS: This retrospective, single-centre, nonrandomized study included 82 eyes of 82 patients with primary macular-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment associated with inferior proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Each eye was treated with one of two heavy silicone oil tamponades: Oxane HD or Densiron 68. Study outcomes were primary and final success rates, final logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution gain, and postoperative complications. The final outcome was based on the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 82 eyes, 45 were treated with Oxane HD and 37 with Densiron 68. There were no significant differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between the groups. The primary and final surgical success rates were 66.6% and 75.7% for Oxane HD and 75.6% and 81% for Densiron 68, respectively
these differences were not statistically significant. In addition, the final logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution gain was 0.36 ± 0.51 (median 0.2) in the Oxane HD group and 0.57 ± 0.58 (median 0.5) in the Densiron 68 group ( P = 0.027). Complication rates were similar between groups ( P >
0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that heavy silicone oils may be an effective alternative for suitable patients in primary complex rhegmatogenous retinal detachment cases, demonstrating high anatomical success and a low adverse event profile.