Repetitive intravitreal bevacizumab injections result in a significant long-term improvement of VA and CRT. The number of re-injections necessary to maintain this effect declined over time. However, the treatment seems to be only slightly better than grid laser photocoagulation.

No abstract

Short-term results suggest that intravitreal injection of bevacizumab is well tolerated and for the majority of patients with occult choroidal neovascularization in AMD results in improvement of visual acuity, decrease in central retina thickness, and reduction of angiographic leakage of the lesion. Bevacizumab as intravitreal treatment may provide a novel therapeutic option for selected patients with exudative AMD. Randomized prospective multicenter trials seem justified to further evaluate long term effects and impact of intravitreal bevacizumab on different subtypes of AMD compared to established therapies.

The present study suggests that an intraocular application of 0.25 mg/ml bevacizumab for the treatment of CNV is reasonable. No significant short term effects of bevacizumab on retinal function were detected, but long term effects cannot be excluded.

A shorter follow-up might underestimate the incidence of spontaneous VMT resolution as the functional outcome of watchful waiting. The likelihood of resolution does not seem to decrease after 12 months.

Background Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears after bevacizumab treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration accompanied by a pigment epithelial detachment (PED) might be caused by stretching forces on the already weakened RPE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether simple measurements of optical coherence tomography (OCT) can predict the individual risk of an RPE tear in preoperative candidates. Methods A retrospective chart review study of 393 consecutive patients with neovascular agerelated macular degeneration evaluated OCT images (Stratus-OCT Zeiss, Jena, Germany). The height of the PED, the central retinal thickness, and the maximum retinal thickness were determined by two independent observers and retrospectively analysed. Results Fifteen patients with an RPE tear had a significant higher PED than the remaining study population. In contrast, no correlation was seen with the central retinal thickness. In a linear regression model, the probability of an RPE tear exponentially increased in dependence of the extent of PED. Conclusion The risk of an RPE tear can be estimated by simple measurement of the height of the PED on OCT.

The broader availability of this technology may enhance the diagnosis and follow-up of AMNR.

for scleral perforation, particularly for trainee surgeons. Ambidexterity can be achieved with practice over a period of time under an operating microscope.Back problems related to posture adopted during surgery are due to bending and leaning over the operating site when standing. This is again minimal with the use of operating microscope, required only during break localization and cryopexy.We strongly believe that using the microscope will result in better trained, more dexterous vitreoretinal surgeons, with less risk of inadvertent scleral perforation during surgery and less prone to back problems in later life.Reference 1 Raman SV, Smith M, Simcock PR. Use of the operating microscope for scleral buckling.