Internal tamponade by silicone oil in the treatment of retinal detachment: a review and a retrospective study

Abstract

Silicone Oil for the management of complicated retinal detachments was introduced by Cibis and associates . Its clinical use was later prohibited in the United States because of significant post-operative complications. Experimental studies indicated that silicone oil might be retino toxic. Scott 2 in Cambridge, for many years continued to advocate the use of Silicone Oil and he slowly convinced retinal surgeons that there might be a place for Silicone Oil in detachment s u r g e r y . Because of a better understanding of vltreoretinal abnormalities and improved surgical techniques, the use of Silicone Oil is now being re-evaluated in many centres including the United States.