Management of postvitrectomy diabetic vitreous hemorrhage with volume homeostatic fluid-fluid exchanger

To evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with postvitrectomy diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (PDVH) who underwent vitreous cavity lavage (VL) by volume homeostatic fluid-fluid exchange.

We performed a retrospective chart review for 88 eyes of 80 consecutive patients who underwent VL for PDVH. Final best-corrected visual acuity after VL was compared to those before VL. Anatomic outcome, including rate of fundus clear-up, recurrent vitreous hemorrhage, increased intraocular pressure, iris neovacularization and anterior hyaloid fibrovascular proliferation were considered.

Between July 1999 and January 2006, 88 eyes of 80 patients underwent this procedure. Significant visual improvement was observed after VL (2.86 +/- 0.40 logMAR at baseline vs 1.71 +/- 0.97 logMAR at last visit, p < 0.0001). The fundus clear-up rate after VL was achieved in 84 out of 109 times (77.1%). Recurrent vitreous hemorrhage was found in 17 of 88 eyes (19.3%) with the mean interval of 92.6 +/- 126.7 days after VL.

For patients suffering from postvitrectomy diabetic vitreous hemorrhage, volume homeostatic vitreous cavity lavage can be an alternative method for removing the bloody content in the vitreous cavity efficiently and permitting rapid visual recovery.