Intravitreal Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Gas Injection in Submacular Hemorrhage

ABSTRACT

Tissue plasminogen activator(tPA) has been used as useful adjunct in the submacular hemorrhage due to age-related macular degeneration, which was injected and able to dissolve clotted blood. It was also known that intravitreal injection of tPA was effective as much as subretinal injection for lysis of blood. Recently, the rationale was introduced that residual dissolved subretinal blood with tPA was displaced from fovea away by intravitreal injection of an expanding gas. We have experienced the improvement of vision in an 83-year old woman with submacular hemorrhage, treated with intravitreal tPA and gas injection.