Vitreous Web after Pars Plana Vitrectomy and Bevacizumab Injection

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report a case of vitreous inflammation (vitreous web) after intravitreal bevacizumab injection accompanying pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy with vitreous hemorrhage. CASE SUMMARY: A 41-year-old female who underwent panretinal photocoagulation for diabetes mellitus (DM) retinopathy presented with decreased visual acuity in her right eye which was caused by vitreous hemorrhage. The patient underwent PPV with intravitreal bevacizumab injection. One day after surgery, the vitreous hemorrhage cleared and there was no inflammation in the anterior segment; however, multiple inflammatory white strands (vitreous web) were found in the vitreous cavity. She was diagnosed with non-infectious endophthalmitis and treated with topical steroid and additional oral steroids, resulting in clearance of the vitreous web on postoperative day 4. One month later, vitreous hemorrhage occurred in the other eye. PPV without bevacizumab injection cleared the vitreous hemorrhage with no evidence of vitreous web. CONCLUSIONS: Vitreous web-like inflammation can occur after intravitreal bevacizumab injection accompanying PPV for the treatment of DM vitreous hemorrhage. After eliminating infectious endophthalmitis based on lack of pain, conjunctival injection, anterior chamber hypopyon, and inflammatory cells, the web can be cleared without invasive intravitreal antibiotics injections.