Pneumatic Displacement of Submacular Hemorrhage with Intravitreal Injection of tPA and SF6 Gas

ABSTRACT

Submacular hemorrhage from various causes induces the irreversible damage to the retina, leading to poor visual outcome. Surgery for removal of submacular hemorrhage was performed but the general results were not satisfactory in spite of better surgical technique. We took this study to identify the effectiveness and safety of intravitreal injection of tissue plasminogen activator(tPA) and SF6 for displacement of submacular hemorrahge. Thirteen patients who have submacular hemorrhage had undergone intravitreal injection of tPA and SF6 and positioned face down for about 1 week. Postoperative complication, best corrected visual acuity, final visual acuity, amount of displacement related to the duration of submacular hemorrhage and causal diseases were checked retrospectively. The average age of the patients was 64. Six eyes(46.2%) improved visual acuity by 2 lines or more, and 2 eyes(15.4%) lost visual acuity 2 lines or more. Complications included vitreous hemorrhage in 2 eyes, increased intraocular pressure in 2 eyes. Causes were trauma in 3 eyes and age-related macular degeneration in 10 eyes. The final visual results after 5 months or longer were related with macular lesion. Complete displacement was achieved in 10 eyes, partial displacement in 4 eyes at 1 month. The authors concluded that brief prone position after intravitreal injection of tPA and SF6 is rapid and effective method for displacement of submacular hemorrhage.