Impact of tumour volume and treatment delay on the outcome after linear accelerator-based fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery of uveal melanoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Primary radiation therapy is used to treat malignant uveal melanoma (UM). We report our single-centre experience with fractionated radiosurgery (fSRS) with a linear accelerator (LINAC) after specific adaptation for small target volumes with HybridArc. METHODS: From October 2014 to January 2020, 101 patients referred to Dessau City Hospital with unilateral UM underwent fSRS with 50 Gy given in five fractions on five consecutive days. Primary endpoints were local tumour control, globe preservation, metastasis and death. Potential prognostic features were analysed. Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox proportional hazards model and linear models were used for calculations. RESULTS: The median baseline tumour diameter was 10.0 mm (range, 3.0-20.0 mm), median tumour thickness 5.0 mm (range, 0.9-15.5 mm) and median gross tumour volume (GTV) 0.4 cm³ (range, 0.2-2.6 cm³). After a median follow-up of 32.0 months (range, 2.5-76.0 months), 7 patients (6.9%) underwent enucleation: 4 (4.0%) due to local recurrence and 3 (3.0%) due to radiation toxicities, and 6 patients (5.9%) revealed tumour persistence with a GTV exceeding 1.0 cm³. Of 20 patients (19.8%) who died, 8 (7.9%) were tumour-related deaths. Twelve patients (11.9%) suffered from distant metastasis. GTV showed an impact on all endpoints, and treatment delay was associated with reduced odds of eye preservation. CONCLUSION: LINAC-based fSRS with static conformal beams combined with dynamic conformal arcs and discrete intensity-modulated radiotherapy results in a high tumour control rate. The tumour volume is the most robust physical prognostic marker for local control and disease progression. Avoiding treatment delay improves outcomes.

[Less Frequent Vascular Disorders of the Retina - Part 1]. / Seltene vaskuläre Erkrankungen der Netzhaut ­ Teil 1.

This review provides an overview of retinal vascular disorders that are less frequent in Germany and Europe compared to diabetic retinopathy and retinal venous or arterial occlusive disorders. The knowledge of these disorders is important for the differential diagnosis of retinal vascular disorders as well as potentially associated systemic disorders. In the current part one epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and therapy are discussed for hypertensive retinochoroidopathy, ocular ischemic syndrome, retinal alterations in sickle cell disease, Eales disease, radiation retinopathy, peripheral exudative hemorrhagic chorioretinopathy, and retinal disorders associated with pregnancy.

Incidence of Retinal Detachment after Macular Surgery. / Ablatiohäufigkeit nach elektiver Makulachirurgie.

Macular surgery has become an increasingly atraumatic procedure for the eye with the surgical methods that have been further developed in recent years. The most common complications include cystoid macular oedema and retinal detachment, more rarely endophthalmitis. The aim of this retrospective study is to record the number of retinal detachments following elective macular surgery. In this study we included all patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (ppV, 20 or 25 gauge) in the years 2009 - 2016. We then identified the patients who were hospitalised again because of retinal detachment. For the affected patients, the rate of retinal detachment, functional outcomes and possible risk factors were recorded. A total of 904 eyes were identified, of which 667 had surgery for epiretinal membrane, 188 for macular hole, and 49 for vitreomacular traction with a 20 or 25 gauge ppV. Of these 904, retinal detachment occurred in 17 (1.88%) cases. The mean time between first ppV and second ppV with retinal detachment was 248 days (3 - 1837 days). Two of the 17 patients had at least one retinal break before or during surgery. The retinal break was located inferior in six cases, superior in four; in four cases PVR retinal detachment and in three cases the foramina were distributed. Mean visual acuity was 0.27 (decimal) before macular surgery and 0.28 at the time of last presentation. Modern vitrectomy techniques reduce the complications in elective macular surgery, but do not replace the surgeon's experience.

Treatment of radiation-induced maculopathy with fluocinolone acetonide.

PURPOSE: Chronic macular oedema is a well-known presentation of radiation-induced maculopathy (RM) following external beam photon therapy, plaque radiotherapy and proton beam radiotherapy for choroidal tumours. Current therapies vary in respect of efficacy and clinical benefit. The potential of fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) slow-release implants is unknown. We hypothesised that local continuous delivery of low-dose corticosteroids might improve symptoms of RM. METHODS: Five-two male and three female-patients from 37 to 68 years presented with RM following 106Ru-plaque brachytherapy or stereotactic radiation therapy (STx) with photons using a hypofractionated schedule of 5 × 10 Gy. All were treated with triamcinolone injections in first line and proofed to be refractory to steroids. In addition, two patients had received Ozurdex® implants as a second-line treatment, though without any clinical benefit. FAc slow-release implants were injected, and patients were followed up to monitor clinical improvement. RESULTS: All patients responded to therapy by means of a decrease in macular oedema. In four of five (80%) patients, visual acuity improved, and one patient showed stable visual acuity. No toxic effects or complications were observed. CONCLUSION: Slow-release implants of FAc are a promising therapeutic potent steroid treatment option to benefit anatomical structures of the fovea and visual function. Slow-release implants with FAc reduce the frequency of intravitreal injections and the therapeutic burden.

Stereotactic radiotherapy for choroidal melanomas by means of HybridArc™ : Physics and technique of linac-based photon beam therapy.

PURPOSE: Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is suitable to treat ocular tumours. The optimal beam geometry for SRT, however, has not been defined. Here we evaluate a combination technique with dynamic conformal arcs (DCAs) and intensity-modulated static fields (IMRT), known as HybridArc™ (HA). METHODS: For the first consecutive 25 cases with choroidal melanomas with volumes of 0.02 to 1.18 cm3 treated with 50 Gy in five fractions, the results with respect to dose conformity, homogeneity, and dose distributions were summarised. To describe the dose distribution at the planning target volume (PTV) boundary, we defined a spatially averaged dose gradient (SADG) and compared it with Paddick's gradient index (GI). We made dosimetric comparisons between HA and other irradiation techniques. RESULTS: The PTVs ranged from 0.42 to 3.37 cm3. The conformity index (CI) was 1.25 ± 0.15, and the homogeneity index (HI) 0.08 ± 0.02. The SADG was (-3.5 ± 0.5) Gy/mm or (-7.0 ± 1.0) %/mm between the isodose levels 95 and 20%; local minima reached -11.5 Gy/mm or -22.9%/mm. The coefficient of determination for a nonlinear regression of GI on SADG was 0.072. After a median follow-up time of 19.6 months, local tumour control was 100% without any case of post-therapeutic enucleation. Two patients (8%) developed liver metastases. CONCLUSION: SRT of ocular tumours by HA is highly appropriate, and HA is superior to intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) concerning dose reduction in organs at risk (OARs). The novel gradient measure SADG is more informative than Paddick's GI.

Optimizing radiosurgery with photons for ocular melanoma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Photon radiotherapy has been established for the treatment of ocular melanoma (OM). Here we investigate the planning qualities of two different planning approaches, a combination of dynamic conformal arcs (DCA) complemented with multiple non-coplanar static intensity-modulated (IMRT) fields (DCA-IMRT), and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in combination with automated planning (AP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen consecutive patients treated for ocular melanoma with curative intent on a Linac-based radiosurgery system were analyzed. Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (fSRS) was applied using 50 Gy in 5 fractions using the combination of DCA-IMRT. Plans were reviewed and the thirteen cases were compared to plans obtained with optimized automated VMAT based on a set of 28 distinct patients treated with DCA-IMRT who were selected to generate the AP model for the prediction of dose volume constraints. RESULTS: Overall, plan quality of DCA-IMRT was superior to AP with VMAT. PTV coverage did not exceed 107% in any case treated with DCA-IMRT, compared to seven patients with VMAT. The median PTV covered by >95% was 98.3% (91.9%-99.7%) with DCA-IMRT, compared to 95.1% (91.5%-97.9%) (p < 0.01) with VMAT. The median mean dose delivered to the treated eye was 22.4 Gy (12.3 Gy-33.3 Gy) with DCA-IMRT compared to 27.2 Gy (15.5 Gy-33.7 Gy) (p < 0.01). Dose to the ipsilateral lacrimal gland and the ipsilateral optic nerve were comparable for DCA-IMRT and VMAT, however, the dose to the lens was lower with DCA-IMRT compared to VMAT. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of multiple arcs complemented with multiple IMRT fields sets the gold standard for fSRS of ocular melanoma for photon therapy.

Neoadjuvant proton beam irradiation followed by transscleral resection of uveal melanoma in 106 cases.

AIMS: To describe results after neoadjuvant proton beam irradiation followed by transscleral resection of large uveal melanoma. METHODS: Retrospective interventional case series, including 106 consecutive patients. Local tumour control, enucleation and metastasis development were assessed with survival curves. Predictors of local recurrence and metastasis were investigated with log-rank testing. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 3.2 years. Local recurrence occurred in five cases with an estimated risk of 4.2% and 10.4% at 3 and 5 years after treatment, respectively. Enucleation was performed in 10 cases with an estimated risk of 9.2% and 18.4% at 3 and 5 years, respectively. Significant risk factors for local recurrence were not evident. Metastasis was estimated to occur in 28.4% at 3 years and 40.3% at 5 years, correlating with patient's age only (p=0.01). Seventy four patients (69.8%) underwent vitreoretinal surgery for complications after tumour resection. Median visual acuity (VA) was 20/50 at diagnosis and 20/400 in the third year after treatment. VA preservation of 20/200 or better was achieved in 33 patients (31.1%). CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant proton beam irradiation may help to prevent local recurrence after transscleral resection. Additional vitreoretinal surgery was frequently needed in the presented series. The majority of patients avoided enucleation and functional blindness.

Endogenous filamentous fungal endophthalmitis--single-centre survey in patients with acute leukaemia or postallogeneic stem cell transplantation and review of the literature.

Endogenous endophthalmitis caused by filamentous fungi has been infrequently described and its prognosis in immunocompromised patients is largely unknown. Patients were identified through a single-centre database containing patients with endophthalmitis. Cases published since 2002 were reviewed. Clinical and treatment features as well as outcomes were analysed. Six patients were identified from the database. Underlying conditions were haematological malignancies (HM) and/or allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Three patients underwent vitrectomy. None of the patients survived and the median time from first evidence of endophthalmitis until death was 33 days. The median time from first evidence of an invasive fungal infection to endophthalmitis was only 5 days. Fifty-six patients were identified from the literature. The majority of these patients underwent vitrectomy (27) or enucleation (10) and received intraocular antifungal therapy (28). Only 13 (23%) of 56 patients experienced an improved vision. The survival rate was 52% in all 56 patients but was significantly less in patients with HM or post-HSCT when compared with all others (26% vs. 70%, respectively; P = 0.003). Endogenous endophthalmitis caused by filamentous fungi is frequently associated with a permanent decrease or loss of vision. This type of fungal infection carries a particular poor prognosis in patients with profound immunosuppression, requiring improved treatment strategies.

Ten-year results of transscleral resection of large uveal melanomas: local tumour control and metastatic rate.

AIMS: To describe the long-term tumour control and metastatic rate after transscleral resection (TSR) of large uveal melanomas in a single-centre study. METHODS: The sample included 210 patients with large uveal melanomas. Univariate analysis of local tumour control and metastatic risk by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank testing. Cox proportional HR analysis with forward and backward selection was used to identify independent prognostic factors in patients submitted to TSR of a large uveal melanoma. RESULTS: A residual tumour was diagnosed in 6% of the patients. The 5- and 10-year local tumour recurrence rates were 24% and 32%, respectively. Older age, a large basal tumour diameter, the lack of adjuvant ruthenium brachytherapy and retinal detachment led to a 2.6, 2.4, 4.4 and 7.8 times higher risk of melanoma recurrence, respectively. The 5- and 10-year metastatic rates were 28% and 44%, respectively, and were statistical significantly affected by extraocular spread, tumour thickness and local tumour recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: TSR is an alternative to enucleation for the treatment of large uveal melanomas. Results should improve with better patient selection and more effective methods of adjuvant radiotherapy.

Longterm visual prognosis of patients with ocular Adamantiades-Behçet's disease treated with interferon-alpha-2a.

OBJECTIVE: Relapsing ocular involvement is one of the major manifestations in Adamantiades-Behçet's disease (ABD). Combining systemic corticosteroids with cyclosporin A is currently the treatment of choice. Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has proven to be effective in mucocutaneous ABD and has been reported to improve ocular lesions. We examined the longterm effects of IFN-alpha-2a in a case series of 45 patients with ocular involvement. METHODS: Since 1988, 45 patients (79 eyes of 90 eyes) with ocular involvement in ABD have been treated with IFN-alpha (3 x 6-9 Mio IU per wk). In the initial acute phase of the disease, patients additionally received short-term corticosteroids (oral prednisolone 100 mg/day), tapered to a maintenance dose of 10 mg/day within 2 weeks. IFN-alpha-2a was administered as longterm therapy with a mean duration of 30 months (range 1.1-101 mo). RESULTS: IFN-alpha-2a/prednisolone treatment was effective against vasculitis, optic nerve neuropathy, and iritis. Sixty-four eyes had no recurrence under therapy. To date, recurrences have been seen in 26 eyes under IFN-alpha treatment. Flu-like symptoms were recorded in nearly all patients (n = 43). Further side effects were dose-dependent reversible thrombocytopenia (n = 1), psychosis (n = 3), depression (n = 13), thyroiditis (n = 1), and reversible diffuse alopecia (n = 7). In our series, 92% of all eyes showed stable or improved visual acuity in longterm followup. CONCLUSION: Longterm remission of ocular inflammation can be achieved with the combination of IFN-alpha and low-dose corticosteroids.

Incidence and clinical characteristics of symptomatic choroidal metastasis from lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical characteristics of symptomatic choroidal metastasis (CM) resulting from metastatic lung cancer. METHODS: Twenty-two consecutive patients with symptomatic CM resulting from lung cancer were retrospectively reviewed for ocular findings, medical history and systemic disease. All patients underwent a complete screening for further organ metastasis by computed tomography (CT) and bone scintigraphy. Annual frequency of CM was determined and compared with the incidence predicted from ocular screening studies. RESULTS: In eight of 22 (36%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 17-59) patients, lung cancer had been diagnosed before occurrence of CM, with a median interval of 13 months. In 14 patients lung cancer was detected after diagnosis of CM, with a median interval of 1 month. Choroidal metastasis was unilateral, solitary and located close to or at the posterior pole in the majority of patients. Further organ metastasis with a median number of three affected organ systems was present in 19 (86%; 95% CI 65-97) patients. Median survival after diagnosis of symptomatic CM was 13 months, by contrast with 2 months in lung cancer patients with CM identified in an ocular screening study. The mean number of patients in Berlin diagnosed with symptomatic CM was 1.4 per year, which was two orders of magnitude less than predicted from screening studies. CONCLUSIONS: Symptomatic choroidal lung cancer metastasis in the majority of patients presents as a solitary tumour before diagnosis of lung cancer in patients with multiple organ systems affected by metastatic disease. Contrary to predictions from ocular screening studies, it is a rare clinical entity.

Incidence and clinical characteristics of symptomatic choroidal metastasis from breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical incidence and characteristics of symptomatic choroidal metastasis (CM) in breast cancer. METHODS: Forty-six consecutive patients with CM from breast cancer were retrospectively reviewed in respect of ocular findings, medical history and systemic disease. Clinical incidence of CM was determined and compared with the incidence predicted from prevalence data obtained in ocular screening studies. RESULTS: Choroidal metastasis occurred with a median interval of 42.4 months after diagnosis of breast cancer and was predominantly unilateral (63% patients) and solitary (57% affected eyes). A total of 32% of patients had no history of metastatic tumour disease, but systemic screening with CT and scintigraphy revealed metastatic disease in 100% of patients. A median number of three other organs were affected by metastasis. Median survival from diagnosis of CM was 13.1 months. The mean number of local patients diagnosed with CM was 2.9 per year, which was one order of magnitude less than predicted from clinical screening studies. CONCLUSIONS: Choroidal metastasis occurs in advanced metastatic breast cancer, indicating a grave vital prognosis. In a minority of patients (32%) it is the first sign of metastatic disease. The clinical incidence of CM is far smaller than predicted from prevalence data obtained from ocular screening studies.

Intraocular surgery under systemic interferon-alpha therapy in ocular Adamantiades-Behçet's disease.

BACKGROUND: Adamantiades-Behçet's disease (ABD) is a multi-system disorder with recurrent oral and/or genital ulcerations, skin lesions and ocular involvement. Eye involvement is a common manifestation that affects the patients' quality of life more than any other. Left untreated, it leads to blindness and often to loss of the eye through secondary complications like phthisis or painful glaucoma. In some cases, such as tractional retinal detachment, secondary glaucoma or secondary cataract formation, intraocular surgery is required. METHODS: A prospective study of patients with ocular ABD who underwent intraocular surgery under systemic treatment with interferon-alpha was conducted. From 1999 to 2005, we treated eight eyes from five patients with pars plana vitrectomy (n = 1), phacoemulsification (n = 6) and trabeculectomy (n = 1). The mean follow-up was 49 months (range 5-94 months). RESULTS: Seven out of eight eyes had better visual acuity following surgery. One eye did not benefit from cataract surgery because of optic nerve atrophy. Only one eye showed prolonged inflammation following phacoemulsification. None of the patients showed a recurrence during follow-up. The failure of conservative glaucoma treatment necessitated trabeculectomy in one eye; the patient has had no further recurrence for 6 years under monotherapy with interferon-alpha. CONCLUSION: Interferon-alpha is a potent therapy for Adamantiades-Behçet's disease with ocular involvement. It also provides a basis for safe and reliable surgical interventions. In seven of eight eyes, there was no intra- or peri-operative recurrence of inflammation, which is a common complication after these procedures. Only one eye showed acute and prolonged inflammation following cataract surgery.

Retinal angiomatosis in von Hippel-Lindau disease: a longitudinal ophthalmologic study.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical course of retinal angiomatosis (RA) in von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. DESIGN: Retrospective observational case series from a tertiary referral center. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-seven consecutive VHL disease patients with RA with a mean follow-up of 7.3 years. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed to characterize the clinical course and functional outcome of RA to substantiate ophthalmic screening recommendations for VHL disease patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age and visual acuity (VA) at diagnosis, angioma number, size, fundus position and growth behavior, functional outcome, and risk factors for adverse visual outcome (VA < or =20/1000) were evaluated. RESULTS: The onset of RA was observed to occur between the ages of 5.5 and 62.5 years. Ocular disease was unilateral in 58% of patients at diagnosis; prevalence of bilateral RA as calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis was 100% at age 56.4 years. Twenty-seven eyes showed an adverse visual outcome, occurring at a mean age of 23.2 years. Risk factors included large angiomas at presentation, first manifestation at a younger age, and symptomatic RA. In most eyes, development of new angiomas was slow and only small angiomas were detected on annual follow-up. Eyes harboring multiple angiomas or RA complicated by retinal detachment were at risk of developing large angiomas after short follow-up intervals. Formation of new angiomas was largely independent of patient age. CONCLUSIONS: Retinal angiomatosis in VHL disease bears a high risk of severe vision loss at a young age. In uncomplicated RA, annual ocular screening for presymptomatic angiomas is sufficient. Because RA can occur at any age, lifelong ocular screening is recommended in VHL disease gene carriers starting at preschool age.

Combined brachytherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy for large choroidal melanoma: tumor regression and early complications.

BACKGROUND: To determine the effectiveness and risk profile of combined ruthenium- (Ru)-106-brachytherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) of the tumour apex for the treatment of large choroidal melanoma. METHODS: A consecutive series of 31 large choroidal melanoma treated by Ru-106-brachytherapy and adjuvant TTT was studied. TTT was performed 1 day prior to plaque removal and up to 3 times (mean: 1.8) during follow-up. Evaluation comprised tumour regression, treatment-related adverse events, necessity of additional treatment and visual results. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 21.6+/-7.8 (10.8-38.3) months. Mean tumour thickness was 6.8+/-1.0 (5.0-8.9) mm prior to treatment. Mean residual tumour thickness at the end of follow-up was 2.5+/-1.0 mm. Relevant adverse treatment effects were exudative maculopathy or macula oedema (22.6%), vitreous haemorrhage (16.1%), optic neuropathy (16.1%) and retinal detachment (9.7%). One tumour recurrence occurred during follow-up, and was treated by enucleation. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of Ru-106-brachytherapy with TTT allows for the treatment of large posterior choroidal melanoma. The rate of treatment-related adverse events appears to be acceptable.

Primary vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: an analysis of 512 cases.

BACKGROUND: Primary pars plana vitrectomy (PPPV) has gained widespread popularity in the treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD). However, the surgical procedure is still flawed by a significant rate of anatomical and functional failures. The study was conducted to analyse the risk factors for a dissatisfying postoperative outcome. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study of 512 cases of PPPV with a minimum follow-up of 3 months from one institution over a 9-year period. Preoperatively, 24.8% of patients (127 out of 512) were pseudophakic, 16.4% (84 out of 512) highly myopic, 19.9% (102 out of 512) had preoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and 14.6% (75 out of 512) had vitreous haemorrhage. RESULTS: The follow-up period ranged from 3 to 108 months (median 14.8). Retinal reattachment was achieved with one operation in 70.7% (362 out of 512) and after one or more operations in 97.5% of cases (499 out of 512). The major reasons for redetachments were new retinal breaks, followed by a combination of new breaks and PVR, and PVR without apparent breaks. Postoperative visual acuities of > or =0.1 and > or =0.4 were achieved in 82.8% (424 out of 512) and 48.2% (247 out of 512) respectively. Out of 376 phakic patients at study entry, 66.4% (250 out of 376) underwent cataract surgery either in combination with PPPV or during the postoperative course. Factors that were significantly associated with either anatomical or functional failure included duration of symptoms, low preoperative visual acuity, myopia, amblyopia, hypotony, macular detachment, preoperative PVR, extent of detachment, involvement of inferior quadrants, no detectable breaks, large breaks, breaks posterior to the equator, surgeon, level of surgical training, endocryotherapy, and combined scleral buckling surgery. CONCLUSION: Primary pars plana vitrectomy is still flawed by a relatively high primary redetachment rate following the initial procedure. The advantages of the technique are a high final reattachment rate and relatively good functional results in a subset of patients with more complicated types of RRD. The risk factors for postoperative failures following PPPV for RRD match to a large extent those following scleral buckling surgery (SBS). Future improvements of the technique will have to focus on modifiable risk factors, such as details of the surgical procedures, surgical training and case selection, to distinguish it from SBS.

Indocyanine green angiography and fluorescein angiography of malignant choroidal melanomas following proton beam irradiation.

BACKGROUND: The vascularisation features of intraocular tumours may be characterised by indocyanine green angiography (ICG-A) and fluorescein angiography (FA). Proton beam irradiation is an established method of treating malignant melanoma of the choroid. The aim of this study was to describe the vascularisation features of small choroidal melanomas and to examine the influence of proton beam irradiation on these tumours. METHODS: We examined 39 choroidal melanomas by ICG-A and FA from 1998 to 2001 in a prospective study. The tumours had a mean prominence of 3.65 mm (1.2-7.5 mm) and a common feature of all was their parapapillary or paramacular localisation. Angiography was always performed immediately before proton beam radiotherapy and at intervals of 3 months, half a year and 1 year thereafter. Two hundred and forty angiographies were analysed in total. RESULTS: Intra-tumoral vessels could be visualised in 89% of all tumours by ICG angiography but in only 33% by FA. Neither ICG-A nor FA detected changes 3 months after irradiation; however, ICG-A disclosed strong leakage from vessels in the tumour area after 6 months. These changes increased markedly after 12 months and were also visible by FA. A disadvantage of FA, however, was the faster escape of dye from the vessels, which caused rapid leakage in the tumour area and meant that details could no longer be demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: ICG-A and FA detect marked vascular changes within the tumours examined.

Vitrectomy and trabeculectomy combined with interferon alpha treatment in Adamantiades-Behçet's disease: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Adamantiades-Behçet's disease is a multisystem disorder with recurrent oral and/or genital ulcerations, skin lesions, and ocular involvement. Eye involvement is a common manifestation that affects the patients' quality of life more than any other. Left untreated, it leads to blindness and often to loss of the eye through secondary complications such as phthisis or painful glaucoma. METHODS: Case report of a 24-year-old patient of Turkish descent living in Germany since his birth was admitted to our Department of Ophthalmology in 1999 because of visual loss in his right eye. He could only perceive light in that eye and evidenced total retinal detachment. In the left eye he had 20/20 vision but showed signs of retinal vascular inflammation and secondary glaucoma. RESULTS: Treatment with interferon alpha (9x10(6) I.U./3x week s.c.) and prednisolone (100 mg/d p.o.) led to complete regression of the acute inflammation within 2 weeks prior to operation. Vitrectomy was then successfully performed in the right eye under the therapy of interferon alpha (9x10(6) I.U./3x week s.c.) and 10 mg prednisolone p.o. The prednisolone therapy was stopped 1 week following operation. The failure of conservative glaucoma treatment necessitated trabeculectomy in the left eye. The patient has had no further recurrence for 4 years under monotherapy with interferon alpha (3x10(6) I.U./3x week s.c.). CONCLUSION: Interferon alpha is a potent therapy for Adamantiades-Behçet's disease with ocular involvement. It also provides a basis for safe and reliable surgical interventions. There was no intra- or perioperative recurrence of inflammation, which is a common finding in these procedures.