Scleral thickness following fluocinolone acetonide implant (Retisert).
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide (FA) implantation (Retisert) leads to scleral thinning.


METHODS
Scleral thickness was measured at the pars plana region (4 quadrants) with anterior segment OCT (Visante) in FA implanted eyes (18) with noninfectious posterior uveitis in comparison to eyes with prior vitrectomy (8), and normal eyes without prior surgery (30).


RESULTS
Mean scleral thickness in normal (nonsurgical) eyes was 0.99/0.93/0.88/0.86, and 0.92 mm in the inferonasal/inferotemporal/superotemporal/superonasal quadrants, and overall, respectively. Sclera was thinner in each quadrant of the FA implanted eyes compared to the fellow or nonsurgical eyes, although none reached statistical significance, as the differences were small. However, a few FA implanted eyes demonstrated more dramatic scleral thinning than others.


CONCLUSIONS
FA implant appears to lead to statistically nonsignificant scleral thinning overall with few exceptions. Clinicians should be aware of potential scleral thinning in select cases, important for reimplantation and long-term follow-up.
Taban
Mehran
M
Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Lowder
Careen Y
CY
Ventura
Alexandre A C M
AA
Sharma
Sumit
S
Nutter
Benjamin
B
Hayden
Brandy C
BC
Dupps
William J
WJ
Kaiser
Peter K
PK
D000328:Adult; D004343:Drug Implants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012590:Sclera / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D015422:Scleral Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015866:Uveitis, Posterior / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy
D004343:Drug Implants; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide