Bilateral Globe Penetration From Electromyography Electrode Placement for Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring

[Iatrogenic retinal defects after intravitreal operative drug injections]

BACKGROUND

Intravitreal operative drug injections represent one of the most frequently performed medical interventions. The risk profile is low. In addition to intraocular pressure elevation, the most frequent complications include exogenous endophthalmitis, vitreous hemorrhage and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Furthermore, isolated cases of lens injuries, macular holes associated with vitreoretinal traction and peripheral retinal defects have been described. In the present case series sharp iatrogenic macular and retinal defects are described.

METHODS

Retrospective multicenter case collection of patients with iatrogenic retinal defects after intravitreal injections from 2016 to 2023.

RESULTS

Iatrogenic retinal trauma after intravitreal injections for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration was identified in 9 cases (72 years ± 8.1, 3 eyes pseudophakic). While sharp injuries within the macula occurred in six cases, extramacular lesions were detected in the other cases.

CONCLUSION

Iatrogenic retinal and macular injuries are rare complications of intravitreal injections and when correctly carried out are preventable, especially with respect to use of cannulas and the choice of the distance from the limbus.

Iatrogenic Retinal Penetration from Intravitreal Injections

We present 2 cases of iatrogenic retinal penetration from intravitreal (IVT) injections in a retrospective noncomparative case series of 2 patients. The first patient, an 81-year-old Caucasian male, developed dense vitreous hemorrhage soon after receiving an IVT bevacizumab injection for macular edema from central retinal vein occlusion. A 25-g vitrectomy 1 week later showed a retinal hole surrounded by fresh hemorrhages in the same quadrant as the IVT injection. The second patient, an 87-years-old male, developed a retinal detachment after 28 injections of anti-VEGF medications for neovascular AMD. A peripheral round hole was observed during vitrectomy without any lattice degeneration in the same quadrant as prior IVT injections. Both eyes were pseudophakic, had normal axial lengths, and received injections without measuring the injection site. Retinal penetration from IVT injections can result in serious sight-threatening complications. Measuring the injection site from the limbus should be part of safe IVT injection technique.