Hyperbaric Oxygen, Retinal Detachment, and Sickle Cell Anemia

Abstract

Patients with sickle cell anemia in many cases develop proliferative retinopathy, which frequently progresses to retinal hole formation and retinal detachment. These patients do very poorly with scleral buckling procedures. This is probably due to the sickling of the red blood cells during the surgery, which may interfere with the circulation to the structures of the anterior segment of the eye. We have been able to avoid this problem during and after retinal surgery by performing a modified scleral buckling procedure in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The use of the chamber and the scleral buckling technique is described and a series of successfully treated patients is presented.