Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of vitrectomy with and without silicone oil injection for the treatment of infectious endophthalmitis after cataract surgery when the retina is severely affected.
Methods: This study is aretrospective review of an interventional case series and included 26 eyes of 26 patients who underwent 20-gauge vitrectomy for management of infectious endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. Patients were divided into two groups; group 1 in which vitrectomy was done without silicon oil and group 2 in which vitrectomy was done with silicon oil. All cases were followed for 6 months.
Results: In group 1 the mean logMAR visual acuity significantly improved from 2.71 ± 0.05 to 2.09 ± 0.82  (61.5 % improved, 9.5 % didn't change and 28.5 % worsened).  In group 2 the mean logMAR visual acuity significantly improved from 2.70 ± 0.07 to 2.04 ± 0.75 (76.9 % improved, 15.3 % didn't change and 7.6 % worsened). Four cases (19 %) suffered from persistence of infection after vitrectomy and 3 cases (14.2 %) had postoperative retinal detachmentin group 1. These complications were not reported in any case of group 2.
Conclusion: Silicone oil may be an effective adjunctive to vitrectomy in management of postoperative endopthalmitis with sever retinal affection