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. 2014 Oct 7:8:2055-60.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S66878. eCollection 2014.

Direct photocoagulation to leakage points to treat chronic macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion: a pilot study

Susumu Sakimoto  1 , Motohiro Kamei  1 , Hirokazu Sakaguchi  1 , Mihoko Suzuki  1 , Nagakazu Matsumura  1 , Kentaro Nishida  1 , Kohji Nishida  1
Affiliations

Direct photocoagulation to leakage points to treat chronic macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion: a pilot study

Susumu Sakimoto et al. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Summary statement: Direct photocoagulation reduces the central foveal thickness (CFT) in cases with chronic branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) of longer than 12 months duration. Photo-coagulation might be effective for chronic macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion.

Background: The aim was to investigate the effect of direct photocoagulation for treating chronic macular edema associated with BRVO.

Methods: This study was a noncomparative, pilot interventional case series. We examined the CFT and best-corrected visual acuity over 6 months in patients with BRVO treated with direct photocoagulation.

Results: Sixteen eyes of 16 patients had been treated with direct photocoagulation (mean follow-up period, 20.5 months). The mean CFT decreased significantly (P<0.001) between the baseline (465 μm) and the final visit (304 μm). The mean (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution equivalent) best-corrected visual acuity at the baseline was 0.39 and improved significantly (P<0.001) to 0.20 at the final visit.

Conclusion: Direct photocoagulation to leakage points is beneficial for treating chronic macular edema associated with chronic BRVO of longer than 12 months duration.

Keywords: VEGF; branch retinal vein occlusion; macular edema; optical coherence tomography; photocoagulation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reduction in the central foveal thickness (CFT) after direct photocoagulation. Notes: (A) The line graph shows the changes in the CFT 3 months and 6 months after direct photocoagulation. *P<0.01 by one-way analysis of variance and the Tukey’s test. (B) The bar graph shows a comparison of the baseline and final CFTs. *P<0.01, by the paired t-test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Images of the left eye of a 68-year-old woman with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Notes: A fundus photograph (top), optical coherence tomography (OCT) image (middle), and fluorescein angiography (FA) image (bottom) were obtained at baseline (A, C, E) and 3 months (B, D, F) after direct photocoagulation. (D) OCT shows decreased macular edema after direct photocoagulation compared to the baseline (C). FA shows decreased microaneurysms and leakage after direct photocoagulation. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved from 40/200 to 60/200.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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