Optical coherence tomography evaluation of macular edema after radial optic neurotomy in patients affected by central retinal vein occlusion

Abstract
To evaluate the characteristics of macular edema (ME) before and after radial optic neurotomy (RON) detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT), in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Interventional case series. Five eyes of 5 patients affected by CRVO underwent RON. Complete ocular examination including best corrected snellen visual acuity (VA), fluorescein angiography (FA) and OCT were performed before RON and at 1, 3 and 6 months of follow-up. The OCT characteristics of macular edema are similar in all the eyes affected by CRVO. Mean retinal thickness (RT) before RON was 858 microns, mean VA was 20/640. By FA 3 eyes were evaluated as being perfused and 2 as indeterminate. No complications occurred during and after surgery. At 6 months of follow-up the RT decreased in all the patients (100%) with a mean value of 289 microns. The VA increased in 3 patients and remained stable in 2. OCT demonstrated resolution of the macular edema in all the eyes. This resolution is not always accompanied with an improvement in VA. Further studies are needed to better understand the efficacy of this procedure.