Scleral thickness following fluocinolone acetonide implant (Retisert).

Abstract

PURPOSE:

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.

• Authors: Mehran Taban, Careen Y Lowder, Alexandre A C M Ventura, Sumit Sharma, Benjamin Nutter, Brandy C Hayden, William J Dupps, Peter K Kaiser
• Journal: Ocular immunology and inflammation (Ocul Immunol Inflamm) Vol. 18 Issue 4 Pg. 305-13 (Aug 2010) ISSN: 1744-5078 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 20482407 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Drug Implants
• Glucocorticoids
• Fluocinolone Acetonide

Topics

• Adult
• Drug Implants (adverse effects)
• Female
• Fluocinolone Acetonide (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Glucocorticoids (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Recurrence
• Sclera (drug effects, pathology)
• Scleral Diseases (chemically induced, diagnosis, pathology)
• Treatment Outcome
• Uveitis, Posterior (drug therapy)
• Visual Acuity
• Vitrectomy