AIM: To observe the changes of the morphology and structure of macula, blood flow density of macula and optic disc, as well as retinal nerve fiber layer thickness by optical coherence tomography(OCT)and optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment(RRD)under went sclera buckling(SB).

METHODS: As a cross-sectional case-controlled study, 25 patients(25 eyes)were diagnosed with RRD in the department of ophthalmology, Ganzhou People's Hospital from July 2014 to March 2021. The differences in the vascular density(VD)of superficial vessel cluster(SVC), the VD of deep vessel cluster(DVC)of macula, the SVC-VD of optic disc, retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL), central macular thickness(CMT), subfoveal choroidal thickness(SFCT)and outer structure of macula between the affected eyes and healthy eyes at the last post-operative follow-up were compared, and the correlation indicators affecting best corrected visual acuity(BCVA, LogMAR)of the affected eyes at the last follow-up were analyzed.

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant in SVC-VD and DVC-VD of macula, SVC-VD of optic disc, RNFL, CMT, SFCT between the affected eyes and healthy eyes at the last post-operative follow-up(all P>0.05); At the last follow-up visit, the comparison of macular outer structure on OCT between the affected eyes and the healthy eyes showed that the light band integrity of the external limiting membrane(ELM), myoid zone(MZ), ellipsoid zone(EZ)and outer segment of photoreceptor(OS)had no statistically significant difference(all P>0.05), while the light band integrity of interdigitation zone(IZ)had significant difference(P=0.014); The difference of BCVA(LogMAR)between the affected eyes and the healthy eyes at the last follow-up was statistically significant(P=0.002). There was significant correlation between BCVA(LogMAR)of affected eyes at the last post-operative follow-up and the presence or absence of macular involvement, the correlated with SVC-VD of optic disc, the integrity of the light bands of ELM, MZ, EZ, OS and IZ on the outer structure of macula, it was positively correlated with the presence or absence of macular involvement(r_s=0.401, P=0.047)and it was negatively correlated with SVC-VD of optic disc, the integrity of the light bands of ELM, MZ, EZ, OS and IZ on the outer structure of macula(all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The OCT and OCTA can be used to observe fundus changes after SB surgery for RRD to obtain long-term follow-up information related to vision prognosis, and visual prognosis depends on the recovery of retinal outer structure, and the integrity of IZ structure is more important for visual recovery; The SVC-VD of optic disc is correlated with visual prognosis, and whether it was correlated with intraocular pressure require further observation and verification with postoperative continuous data.