Eye injections have low risk of retinal detachment

Patients with retinal disease who are treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections have a lower incidence of retinal detachment according to a recent study. The retrospective study involved reviewing cases from six centers over a consecutive 36-month period from January 2006 to December 2008. The retinal diseases that were being treated included macular edema, retinal hemangioma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, subretinal hemorrhages, and Irvine-Gass syndrome. The injections that were given used Lucentis, Avastin or recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. Only 5 retinal detachments were documented over the 3-year study period and they occurred between 2 and 6 days after the injection. Researchers noted that the chemical compound and volume of the injected drug and the patient?s underlying disease may have played a role in the incidence of retinal detachment. Also influencing the incidence of retinal detachment was the injection site, the tunneled technique and the size of the needles.* Elise Ervin Staff Writer