Management of endothelial decompensation because of glaucoma shunt tube touch by Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty and tube revision.

PURPOSE: To describe the trimming of a glaucoma shunt tube with Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) for the treatment of endothelial decompensation caused by tube-endothelium touch. METHODS: An 84-year-old man with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma OU had endothelial decompensation because of the touch of the tube of an Ahmed glaucoma valve at the corneal endothelium OS. The best-corrected visual acuity decreased from 20/60 to counting fingers at 3 feet. The patient underwent uncomplicated trimming of the shunt tube and DMEK. RESULTS: After surgery, the cornea became clear, and the best-corrected visual acuity improved to 20/60. The intraocular pressure remained normal (8-12 mm Hg) without antiglaucoma medications, and endothelial cell count remained stable in a follow-up of 12 months. No complications were encountered. CONCLUSIONS: Glaucoma shunt tube trimming with DMEK may be considered in cases of endothelial decompensation because of tube-endothelium touch and may replace penetrating keratoplasty and other posterior lamellar procedures for such cases.

Delayed Suprachoroidal Hemorrhage after Reinstitution of Warfarin in Combined Procedure.

A 79-year-old non-compliant male with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma and cataract in the left eye underwent uneventful combined phacoemulsification, posterior chamber intraocular lens insertion and trabeculectomy with mitomycin C through one port a week after replacement of warfarin with subcutaneous injections of enoxaparin (Clexane; Sanofi-Aventis, Netaniya, Israel). The intraocular pressure (IOP) following surgery was zero. Four days later, warfarin was restarted because of short ventricular tachycardia when the patient developed suprachoroidal hemorrhage and later hyphema and vitreous hemorrhages. The patient underwent drainage of the suprachoroidal hemorrhage. His IOP increased to 10 to 12 mm Hg while the bleb was functioning, but visual acuity remained poor because of chorioretinal retinal scarring from age-related macular degeneration. Premature reinstitution of warfarin may cause delayed hemorrhages if the postoperative IOP is low. Preoperative approval from the internist for a prolonged replacement of warfarin with lesser potent agents, or tightening of the scleral flap and releasing the sutures later in trabeculectomy in combined procedures may be warranted.

Extrafoveal vitreous traction associated with branch retinal vein occlusion.

PURPOSE: To present patients with extrafoveal vitreous traction associated with diffuse macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). METHODS: A retrospective study on consecutive patients with BRVO using optical coherence tomography (OCT)-2000 is reported. Excluded were patients with eyes with other retinopathies that could affect analysis and eyes following pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). A control group of 30 age-matched patients allowed for normal OCT 6-mm macular maps. RESULTS: Vitreous traction was detected in 4 of 17 eyes (17 patients, 23.5%). The traction was located extrafoveally in each of the 4 eyes. In one eye there was a simultaneous central macular traction. Only the manually controlled OCT-Line group program, but not the central automatic 6-radial lines program, confirmed vitreous traction in each case. Retinal edema (n = 4) and serous retinal detachment (n = 2) underlining the traction sites were in continuum with the central macula in 3 eyes, presenting either as diffuse macular edema or combined with serous macular detachment, respectively. In one eye the edema subsided after PPV, and visual acuity stabilized during 7 postoperative months of follow-up. Macular thickness and visual acuity of another eye improved temporarily in repeated conventional treatments after PPV was discarded, but its fovea markedly atrophied 12 months later. CONCLUSIONS: Extrafoveal vitreous traction may be apparent following BRVO. Further studies are required to assess whether such traction membranes may play a role in the persistence of diffuse macular edema.

Chronic macular edema associated with extrafoveal vitreoretinal traction.

AIM: To describe an association between extrafoveal vitreoretinal traction and chronic macular edema, either diffuse (DiME) or cystoid (CME), by the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Charts and OCT findings of two patients with persistent DiME or persistent DiME accompanied by CME, both associated with extrafoveal vitreous traction membranes were analyzed. Excluded were eyes that either had another vitreoretinopathy that could affect the analysis, had undergone pars plana vitrectomy or that had been treated by intravitreal medications. An age-matched normal control group for OCT (n=12) allowed for the quantification of the normal macular thicknesses. RESULTS: One patient (one eye) following perforating ocular injury and one patient (one eye) of idiopathic origin, both with chronic macular edema refractive to conventional treatment, were found to be associated with extrafoveal vitreoretinal traction in each eye. Retinal edema that was underlying the traction site in each eye was in continuum with the central macular edema, thus manifesting as diffuse macular edema. The automatic central 6-radial lines program in the OCT enabled the detection of the traction site in one eye, while in the other eye the diagnosis was achieved only with the additional use of the Line group program. CONCLUSION: Chronic diffuse macular edema might be related to extrafoveal vitreoretinal traction. Careful search with the diverse OCT programs should be made in order to detect extrafoveal traction sites. Further studies and a larger cohort are required to compare the efficacy of early vitrectomy or pharmacologic vitreolysis versus the current therapeutic approaches in these situations.

Non-diabetic diffuse macular edema associated with extrafoveal vitreous traction.

BACKGROUND: The causative role of diffuse macular edema in various etiologies is often undetermined. OBJECTIVES: To describe an association between extrafoveal vitreous traction and non-diabetic diffuse macular edema secondary to various ocular entities. METHODS: In a retrospective study of eyes with non-diabetic diffuse macular edema, charts and optical coherence tomography scans demonstrating extrafoveal vitreous traction were analyzed. Excluded were diabetic patients and eyes that had vitreofoveal traction. A control group (n = 12) allowed for mapping of normal macular thickness. RESULTS: Five eyes with macular edema were associated with extrafoveal traction, each secondary to and representing a different etiology. The causes were penetrating injury, cataract extraction, branch retinal vein occlusion, central retinal vein occlusion, and idiopathic. Vitreous traction was detected either at the papillomacular bundle (n = 3), superonasally to the fovea (n = 1), and at the optic nerve head (n = 1). The associated retinal edema (all eyes) and serous retinal detachment (four eyes) at the traction sites were in continuum with the foveal edema in each eye, manifesting as diffuse macular edema. Of the two modalities--the OCT-Line group program and the OCT-Automatic central program--only the former enabled detection of extrafoveal traction in each. CONCLUSIONS: Diffuse macular edema secondary to various ocular diseases may be associated with extrafoveal vitreous traction. The OCT-Automatic central program may omit some of these extrafoveal traction sites. Further studies are required to validate these findings and to assess whether early vitrectomy may improve visual prognosis in these eyes.