Arteriovenous Adventitial Sheathotomy for the Treatment of Macular Edema Associated with Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report the arteriovenous (AV) adventitial sheathotomy for the treatment of macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). METHODS: Seven eyes of seven patients with best corrected visual acuity of less than 20/200 secondary to BRVO received pars plana vitrectomy and AV adventitial sheathotomy, and were followed postoperatively for 1, 2, and 4 months. RESULTS: Intraoperative decompression of the AV crossing was achieved in all 7 patients. All patients showed clinical improvement as determined by fundus examination, optical coherent tomography, and fluorescein angiography. Postoperative visual acuity was better in 6 of the 7 patients (86%) with an average of two lines of vision being gained. CONCLUSIONS: AV adventitial sheathotomy may be beneficial for selected patients with poor vision secondary to BRVO.