Sarah L Mason, Fred K Chen

Purpose: To compare surgical outcomes of retinal detachment repair surgery between consultant and fellows.
Methods: Data from the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists (ANZSRS) surgical reg- istry was examined. Patients operated at Royal Perth Hospital between 2013 and 2015, with a 3 month follow-up data entry where eligible. In addition to reattachment success rate with or without oil tampo- nade, the time taken for the surgical procedure, pre- and post-operative visual acuity and complications were reviewed. These variables were compared between cases operated by a consultant and a fellow. Results: Data from a total of 204 recorded opera- tions were analyzed. A total of 143 cases were com- pleted by fellows as primary surgeon, the remaining 61 cases we performed by consultants. The average median operating time was 64 minutes for fellows and 68 minutes for consultants. Initial (3 month) success rate for fellows was 85% (16% under oil and 69% without oil). Similarly, the success rate for consultants was 79% (13% under oil and 66% with- out oil). Complication rates varied and documenta- tion was incomplete. Only 13% of the cases had 12 month follow up outcome documented.
Conclusion: Grade of primary operating surgeon did not signiftcantly impact on operating time.

Differences in success may be related to complexity of cases. Improvement in long-term outcome docu- mentation is needed in the use of ANZSRS surgical registry.