Peyman G A, Nelson N C, Alturki W, Blinder K J, Paris C L, Desai U R, Harper C A
LSU Eye Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center School of Medicine, New Orleans.
Ophthalmic Surg. 1991 Oct;22(10):575-82.
We used tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to aid in the surgical evacuation of subretinal hemorrhages. Subretinal hemorrhage secondary to a ruptured retinal macroaneurysm was treated in two patients. The surgical technique involved using a micropipette to fashion a small retinotomy through which tPA was injected into the subretinal space and through which the dissolved clot was removed. Visual acuity improved from counts fingers to 20/50 in one patient and from counts fingers to 20/70 in the other. Three additional patients, with massive subretinal hemorrhages secondary to age-related macular degeneration, were similarly treated. In one, visual acuity improved from counts fingers to 20/400; in two others, visual acuity was stabilized; in the first patient, at 20/300, and in the second patient at 20/400. The use of tPA minimizes surgical manipulation of the sensory retina and greatly reduces the size of the retinotomy required for evacuation of subretinal blood.
