Title

ND:YAG LASER POSTERIOR HYALOIDOTOMY IN VALSALVA RETINOPATHY – CASE REPORT

Summary

A 28-years-old female presented in the emergency department complaining of a 7-day history of sudden and painless visual impairment in her left eye, after a vomiting episode. She denied trauma or other symptoms, and had no history of comorbidities or previous ocular surgeries. Visual acuity was 20/20 in her right eye and hand motion in her left eye. Retinal examination in her left eye disclosed a large premacular hemorrhage. The diagnosis of Valsalva retinopathy was made and the patient was elected to receive a Nd:YAG laser posterior hyaloidotomy. In the same day, we performed the procedure using between 5.5 and 6.0 mJ, in a total of 15 shots, opening the internal limiting membrane in two different points. Two days later, the hemorrhage had drained almost completely into the vitreous cavity showing a healthy macula with the visual acuity improving to 20/40. The present case shows that Nd:YAG laser posterior hyaloidotomy is a simple, quick and less invasive approach to patients with large premacular hemorrhages offering fast recover of visual acuity in these cases.

Area

CLINICAL CASE

Authors

Eduardo da Silva Eli, Marcelo Brillinger Novello, Fabio Busch