• Silicone Oil
• Ocular Hypertension
• Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment
• Retinal Detachment
• Emulsification of Silicone Oil
• Vitrectomy Via Pars Plana.

Silicone oil (SO) is a commonly used tamponade agent in vitreoretinal surgery for retinal detachment. SO is typically removed from the vitreous chamber through a second surgery after a variable amount of time from its injection. Numerous complications arise from its use, most of which are due to its chemico-physical properties. Intraocular pressure (IOP) changes after oil extraction are documented from its very first use and are a potentially vision-threatening condition. The aim of our study was to investigate possible factors correlating with this outcome and to update current knowledge on natural history of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in a cohort of patients treated with vitrectomy via pars plana followed by the usage of SO as an endotamponade. SO emulsification in the anterior chamber of the eye is a frequent complication following surgeries performed for its removal. We observed that the presence of emulsification correlated with higher values of IOP. Furthermore, we examined whether the duration SO presence correlated with the two main clinical outcomes of interest in RRD, namely IOP and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Lastly, we conducted a comparison between the two oils used in our case series, namely 1000 SO and Densiron SO, with respect to emulsification and IOP. SO remains far from being considered a perfect tamponade agent as a vitreous substitute, but while waiting for further discoveries in this field, it remains essential in the treatment of certain subtypes of RRD.