Retinal tears and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after intravitreal injections: its prevalence and case reports

Abstract

PURPOSE: To report the prevalence of postoperative retinal tear or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment secondary to intravitreal injections. METHODS: Surgical and medical records of patients who received intravitreal injections at the practice of a single retina specialist from January 2004 to May 2013 and who were followed for at least 6 months were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 3,907 intravitreal injections were performed in 1,049 eyes of 784 patients (416 males [47%]). The mean number of injections per eye was 3.72 ± 3.43 (range, 1-22). The mean age of the participants was 67.03 ± 13.56 (range, 5-94 years). The mean follow-up time was 31.98 ± 22.86 months (range, 6-144 months). Retinal break or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment occurred in 3 injections of 3 eyes, yielding an overall prevalence of 0.077% per injection and 0.29% per eye. CONCLUSIONS: Retinal tear and rhegmatogenous detachment are rare complications of intravitreal injection. Precautions should be taken especially in patients having predisposing conditions, such as high myopia, or any other vitreoretinal disorders.