SEVERE RECURRENT FIBROVASCULAR PROLIFERATION AFTER COMBINED INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB INJECTION AND LASER PHOTOCOAGULATION FOR AGGRESSIVE POSTERIOR RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Severe fibrovascular proliferation can develop in eyes with aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity despite treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab and laser photocoagulation. Purpose: To describe the clinical features of severe recurrent fibrovascular proliferation after intravitreal bevacizumab injections and laser photocoagulation for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. Methods: This retrospective, nonrandomized case series reviewed the medical and ophthalmic records in the referral hospital and our hospital. Patients: Four patients (seven eyes) with aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. Results: The patients were referred for vitrectomy with/without lensectomy for recurrent fibrovascular proliferation with a tractional retinal detachment after combined intravitreal bevacizumab injections and laser photocoagulation. Three patients were born at 22 weeks or 23 weeks' gestational age and one patient at 29 weeks' gestational age. Preoperatively, fluorescein angiography images showed all eyes had tractional retinal detachment from regrowth of fibrovascular proliferation 3 months to 5 months after the intravitreal bevacizumab injection and abnormal retinal vasculature; four eyes had a broad ischemic retina. Postoperatively, four eyes had retinal attachment and three eyes a total retinal detachment. Neovascular glaucoma developed in five of the seven eyes during the clinical course. Conclusion: Severe fibrovascular proliferation may recur due to widespread retinal ischemia with capillary dropout and abnormal vasculature after failed combined intravitreal bevacizumab and laser photocoagulation therapy as the initial treatment for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. Careful follow-up is important especially after anti–vascular endothelial growth factor treatment, with recognition that severe reactivation is possible.

[1]  Benjamin J. Thomas,et al.  PROGRESSIVE RETINAL DETACHMENT IN INFANTS WITH RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY TREATED WITH INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB OR RANIBIZUMAB , 2017, Retina.

[2]  A. Hutchinson,et al.  Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy for Primary Treatment of Type 1 Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Report by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. , 2017, Ophthalmology.

[3]  Peiquan Zhao,et al.  Combination of Intravitreal Injection of Ranibizumab and Photocoagulation for the Treatment of Aggressive Posterior Retinopathy of Prematurity with Vitreous Hemorrhage , 2016, Journal of ophthalmology.

[4]  Makiko Ito,et al.  Visual outcomes after early vitreous surgery for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. , 2013, JAMA ophthalmology.

[5]  Alice Z Chuang,et al.  Efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab for stage 3+ retinopathy of prematurity. , 2011, The New England journal of medicine.

[6]  M. Martinez-Castellanos,et al.  ANTIANGIOGENIC THERAPY WITH INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB FOR RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY , 2008, Retina.

[7]  Anna L. Ells,et al.  The International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity revisited. , 2005, Archives of ophthalmology.

[8]  E. Piek,et al.  Pericyte production of cell-associated VEGF is differentiation-dependent and is associated with endothelial survival. , 2003, Developmental biology.

[9]  K. Alitalo,et al.  VEGF guides angiogenic sprouting utilizing endothelial tip cell filopodia , 2003, The Journal of cell biology.

[10]  B. Lorenz,et al.  RETINAL VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT WITH 0.312 MG INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB TO TREAT SEVERE POSTERIOR RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY: A Longitudinal Fluorescein Angiographic Study , 2017, Retina.