Xiao YH, Zhang WP, Wang ZY. Post vitrectomy alterations of retinal microcirculation in complicated diabetic retinopathy with and without silicone oil. World J Diabetes 2026; 17(10): 122682 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.122682]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhen-Yu Wang, Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Street, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China. llbtiao@suda.edu.cn
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Ophthalmology
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research-article
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Xiao YH, Zhang WP, Wang ZY. Post vitrectomy alterations of retinal microcirculation in complicated diabetic retinopathy with and without silicone oil. World J Diabetes 2026; 17(10): 122682 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.122682]
World J Diabetes. Oct 15, 2026; 17(10): 122682 Published online Oct 15, 2026. doi: 10.4239/wjd.122682
Post vitrectomy alterations of retinal microcirculation in complicated diabetic retinopathy with and without silicone oil
Yan-Hui Xiao, Wen-Peng Zhang, Zhen-Yu Wang
Yan-Hui Xiao, Wen-Peng Zhang, Zhen-Yu Wang, Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Wang ZY designed the research and performed the surgery; Xiao YH and Zhang WP collected and analyzed the patient data; Xiao YH drafted the manuscript; Zhang WP prepared the tables and figures; all authors reviewed the final manuscript and approved the submitted version.
AI contribution statement: AI is solely employed for proofreading: Such as spelling, grammar, linguistic refinement and so on. The authors take full responsibility and accountability for all content of this manuscript, including any portions for which AI tools were used as assistive technologies. All AI-assisted outputs were carefully reviewed, validated, and approved by the authors. AI tools were not used to generate original scientific data, perform independent scientific analyses, or draw scientific conclusions.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81700796.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (2024 Review No. 357) and conducted in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants after detailed explanation of the study procedures and potential risks.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this work.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and analysed in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. This article has no additional Supplementary materials.
Corresponding author: Zhen-Yu Wang, Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Street, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China. llbtiao@suda.edu.cn
Received: April 30, 2026 Revised: June 15, 2026 Accepted: September 4, 2026 Published online: October 15, 2026 Processing time: 158 Days and 11.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Vitrectomy combined with silicone oil (SO) tamponade is a common treatment for complicated diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, changes of the fragile retinal microcirculation in patients with DR after SO tamponade remain unclear. In recent years, the imaging technique of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has revolutionized the evaluation of retinal microcirculation by enabling in vivo visualization and quantitative assessment of the retinal vascular networks noninvasively.
AIM
To explore changes of retinal microcirculation and visual function in patients with DR after SO tamponade using OCTA.
METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with DR who underwent vitrectomy at our institution. Two sequential comparative analyses were performed: A crosssectional comparison between the SO and Air groups, followed by a longitudinal comparison between the SO and SO removal (SOR) groups. OCTA was used to measure retinal thickness (RT), vascular density (VD) in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses (DCP), and the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was also recorded.
RESULTS
Compared with the Air group, the SO group showed greater parafoveal and perifoveal RT at both 1 month and 3 months, lower parafoveal and perifoveal VD-DCP at 3 months, and larger FAZ areas at both time points. Correspondingly, the SO group also demonstrated worse BCVA. At 3 months after SOR, parafoveal and perifoveal VD in the DCP increased, accompanied by an improvement in BCVA compared with that during SO tamponade. Correlation analysis revealed that parafoveal and perifoveal RT and FAZ area were positively correlated with logMAR BCVA, whereas parafoveal and perifoveal VD in the DCP were negatively correlated.
CONCLUSION
SO was associated with altered retinal microcirculation and worse visual outcomes in patients with complicated DR after vitrectomy. Only partial improvement in some perfusion parameters and vision was observed after SOR.
Core Tip: This study explored changes of retinal microcirculation in patients with complicated diabetic retinopathy after silicone oil (SO) tamponade using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). SO tamponade was associated with decreased deep retinal vascular density (VD), increased retinal thickness, and enlargement of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). After SO removal, deep retinal VD partially increased, whereas FAZ enlargement persisted. OCTA may serve as a valuable tool for postoperative follow-up and clinical management of patients after vitrectomy.
