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Published on: December 7, 2016
Quantitative analysis of diabetic macular edema after scatter laser photocoagulation with the scanning retinal
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Purpose:
To define the effect of scatter laser photocoagulation on foveal retinal thickness.
Methods:
A commercial scanning retinal thickness analyzer was used to measure retinal thickness. The foveal retinal thickness was measured at the central area of the fundus (0.4 x 0.4 mm). The method was applied to 20 consecutive patients (mean age, 52.4 +/-16.9 years) with diabetic retinopathy. Measurements were performed before and 6 weeks after scatter photocoagulation. Patients were examined by fluorescein angiography and slit-lamp biomicroscopy to detect macular edema.
Results:
Mean foveal thickness before scatter photocoagulation was 187+/-45 microm, increasing to 221+/-46 microm after the treatment (P = 0.0001). The foveal thickness increased in 12 eyes (60%). Laser treatment increased macular permeability in two eyes (10%). Biomicroscopic examination revealed central macular thickening in one eye (5%). Visual acuity was reduced in four eyes (20%).
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that subclinical macular edema occurs after scatter laser photocoagulation. The retinal thickness analyzer is a sensitive tool for early detection of macular edema after laser treatment, because increases in retinal thickness as small as 34 microm cannot be assessed by slit-lamp biomicroscopy.
