Abstract
Purpose To investigate the long-term surgical outcomes after treatment with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with photocoagulation in different severities of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) with vitreous hemorrhage (VH) in order to propose a new grading system. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 117 eyes of 117 patients who underwent PPV for VH associated with BRVO and who were followed up for at least 12 months. Preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), surgical intervention, final BCVA, and central foveal thickness (CFT) were evaluated using optical coherence tomography. We proposed a system to grade BRVO with VH from Grade I to Grade III with increasing severity: Grade I,pure persistent VH; Grade II,VH with epiretinal membrane (EM) (Grade IIa,VH with EM without macular involvement; Grade IIb,VH with EM with macular involvement); and Grade III,VH with tractive retinal detachment. Different surgical methods were appliedaccording to the different retinal conditions. Results BCVA significantly improved at final follow-up in all groups. There was no significant difference among the four groups in terms of preoperative BCVA, final BCVA,CFT,or the number of patients whose macular edema recurred after surgery (p>0.05), but there was a significant difference in vision improvement(p<0.05). Vision improvement in the Grade IIb group was significantly worse than in the Grade I group(p=0.006) and in the Grade IIa group(p=0.046). The percentage of patients in the Grade I, Grade IIa, Grade IIb, and Grade III groups needing further laser treatment after surgery was 0%, 8.3%, 16.3%, and 23.5%, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion We proposed a new grading system for BRVO treated with PPV. Vitrectomy is a safe and effective treatment for BRVO with VH. Visual acuity improvement was significantly worse when the EM had macular involvement (Grade IIb).
Bilateral vitreous hemorrhage with branch retinal vein occlusion secondary to hyperhomocysteinemia: A rare case report
