The Risk of Retinal Breaks or Detachment in Fellow Eye with Lattice Degeneration after Primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment

Purpose: Lattice poses risks to patients with prior detachments. This study evaluates such patients’ likelihood of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD) and retinal breaks (RB) and assesses the efficacy of prophylactic laser retinopexy and cryopexy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study utilizing the TriNetX registry. Patients either with or without prior contralateral RRD/RB and also with fellow eye lattice were included. Logistic regression calculated the likelihood of RRD/RB in the fellow eye. The number needed to treat (NNT) was calculated for prophylactic laser retinopexy and cryopexy. Results: Patients with prior unilateral RRD/RB had a higher likelihood of fellow eye RRD/RB than those without prior unilateral RRD/RB (OR: 4.47, 99% CI: 3.47-5.76). Myopia increased this likelihood (OR: 5.67, 99% CI: 3.80-8.48). The NNT to prevent one RRD was lower for patients with prior unilateral RRD (NNT: 5.63; 95% CI: 4.07-5.37) than those without (NNT: 43.29; 95% CI: 38.72-49.08). The NNT to prevent one RB was lower for patients with prior unilateral RB (NNT: 3.83; 95% CI: 3.37-4.44) than those without (NNT: 45.70; 95% CI: 39.99-53.30). Conclusion: Prior contralateral RRD/RB increases the likelihood of RRD/RB in fellow eyes with lattice. Prophylactic laser retinopexy and cryopexy reduces the number of fellow eye RRD/RB.