Background and objective: The purpose of this article is to determine if outcomes in patients presenting with retinal tears with bridging vessels (BVs) differ from those without BVs.
Patients and methods: A case control study of all patients presenting with retinal tears during a 3-year period was completed. Comparisons were made between patients with and without BVs. Variables included vitreous hemorrhage (VH) at presentation, delayed VH, initial and final visual acuity, need for surgery, and retinal detachment.
Results: There was a significant increase in the number of patients with a VH at presentation (75% vs 28%; P < .0001), delayed VH (31% vs 7.5%; P = .001), and incidence of pars plana vitrectomy (16% vs 1.3%; P = .002) in the BV cohort. There was no significant difference in time to VH (9.4 vs 38.8 days; P = .32) or final visual acuity (20/25 vs 20/25; P = .45) between the two groups.
Conclusions: The presence of a BV is an important prognostic indicator for risk of delayed VH. Documenting the presence of a BV allows for appropriate patient counseling. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2022;53:502-505.].