476 Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2013, Vol. 23 (7): 476-479 INTRODUCTION Silicone does not occur naturally in free form, in its combined form it accounts for about 25% of the earth's crust. Silicone compounds are unique materials both in terms of the chemistry and in their wide range of useful applications. Silicone in combination with organic compounds provides unique properties that function over a wide temperature range, making the silicone based products less temperature sensitive than most organic surfactants. 1 Silicone oil is used in vitreoretinal surgery to provide long-term internal tamponade in cases of complicated retinal detachment. It is generally removed after 3 months if the retina is attached and also must be removed upon the development of oil emulsification, keratopathy, secondary glaucoma or cataract. 2 The incidence of oil related complications has been constantly reduced by the development of highly viscous and highly purified oils as well as by refined operating techniques. 3 Combined with vitreoretinal surgery, silicon oil injection has become a standard technique and improves the prognosis of complex retinal detachment associated with proliferative vitreoretinopathy, giant retinal tears, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, or ocular trauma. Compared with sulphur hexafluoride gas (SF6) as an intraocular tamponade for the management of retinal detachment, eyes treated with silicone oil were more likely to be successfully re-attached, to achieve a better visual acuity, and to have fewer postoperative compli- cations, particularly cataract, glaucoma, and kerato- pathy. 4 The rationale of this study was to report the outcomes of removal of silicone oil in a series of patients in a tertiary care hospital. The objective of the study was to evaluate the outcome and complications of removal of silicone oil after pars plana vitrectomy. METHODOLOGY The records of 95 eyes of 95 consecutive patients who underwent silicone oil removal between February 2008 to January 2011 were reviewed. This study was approved by hospital ethical review committee. All surgeries were done by a pair of surgeon (SZ and MS). Patients with pseudohypopyon, un-controlled intraocular pressure and attached retina for more than 2 years were included. Patients with PVR grade-C, optic atrophy and total retinal detachment were excluded. Criteria to remove the silicone oil were a completely attached retina as determined ophthalmoscopically, and the duration of silicone oil tamponade was at least 6 months. The data acquisition was performed by two investigators (SAB and ZK) independently of the surgeon, whereas, proforma from the patients was gathered by resident medical officer (GMM). The study was conducted under the supervision of hospital incharge (SFR). In all patients, silicone oil with a viscosity of 1000 centistokes was used. Depending on the intraoperative situation, ORIGINAL ARTICLE Outcomes of Silicone Oil Removal Shakir Zafar, Syeda Aisha Bokhari, Zeeshan Kamil, Munira Shakir, Syed Fawad Rizvi and Ghulam Mustafa Memon ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the outcome and complications of removal of silicone oil after pars plana vitrectomy. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi, from February 2008 to January 2011. Methodology: Ninety five eyes of 95 patients with a history of undergoing three-port pars plana vitrectomy were included in this study that subsequently underwent removal of silicone oil. Silicone oil was removed after ophthalmoscopically determining retina attachment or when the duration of silicone oil tamponade was atleast of 6 months. Patients were followed for a period of 12 months. Results: Retinal re-detachment was seen in 19 (20%) out of 95 eyes, vitreous haemorrhage in 2 (2.1%) out of 95 eyes, corneal decompensation in 6 (6.3%) out of 95 eyes, hypotony in 7 (7.3%) out of 95 eyes, phthisis bulbi in 2 (2.1%) out of 95 eyes and lens opacification in 9 (9.4%) out of 95 eyes. Conclusion: In this study, silicone oil removal resulted in various complications among which retinal re-detachment was the most frequent. Key Words: Complications. Proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Silicone oil removal. Tractional retinal detachment. Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi. Correspondence: Dr. Shakir Zafar, House No. 61, LRBTFree Eye Hospital, Korengi 2 1/2, Karachi. E-mail: drshakirzafar@yahoo.com Received: July 07, 2012; Accepted: March 19, 2013.