Transscleral diode photocoagulation of large retinal and choroidal vascular lesions.
BACKGROUND
Transscleral retinal photocoagulation with a diode laser is used in glaucoma refractory to medical and surgical treatment. Our main research question was how the technique performed in large vascular lesions associated with hemangiomas of the retina and choroid.
Patient charts were retrieved from the hospital files for patients who underwent the procedure and were followed for at least 24 months. Five patients (6 eyes) fit the criteria. Cases included Von Hippel's disease (2 eyes), Coats' disease (1 eye) and choroidal hemangioma (3 cases). Transscleral diode laser treatment was performed under retrobulbar and topical anesthesia with a retinopexy probe (IRIS DioPexy, IRIS Medical Instruments, Mountain View, CA) applied transsclerally under indirect ophthalmoscope visualization. We found an improvement in best-corrected visual acuity at 24 months postoperatively.


CONCLUSIONS
Transscleral photocoagulation may have a clinical application in these diseases as an alternate to the high cost of photodynamic therapy with photosensitizing agents.
Ophthalmology Department, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Peking University Eye Center, and Key Laboratory of Vision Loss and Restoration, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Yun
Y
Feng
Zhizhong
Z
Ma
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D017075:Laser Coagulation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D019572:Retinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D058456:Retinal Telangiectasis / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult; D006623:von Hippel-Lindau Disease / Q000601:surgery