Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026
Author Spotlight: Overcoming Anti-VEGF Resistance Through Advanced Vascular Morphology Assessment in Choroidal Neovascularization
Published on: August 11, 2023
Retinal pigment epithelial tear after intravitreal ranibizumab for subfoveal CNV secondary to AMD
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Box 8096, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. apte@vision.wustl.edu
Purpose:
To report a case of retinal pigment epithelial tear following intravitreal ranibizumab injection for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization.
Methods:
Retrospective single case review.
Results:
A 78-year-old Caucasian female was treated with intravitreal ranibizumab for occult subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). She returned for evaluation with decreased vision and was found to have a retinal pigment epithelial tear on biomicroscopy. Fluorescein angiography and OCT testing confirmed the clinical findings.
Conclusion:
Although a pigment epithelial tear in neovascular AMD can represent natural history, prior reports of such tears after thermal laser, photodynamic therapy with verteporfin and following intravitreal injection of pegaptanib Na combined with this case report suggest that clinicians should be aware of and monitor patients for the possibility of this complication after intravitreal injections of ranibizumab.
