Intravitreal bevacizumab for extrafoveal choroidal neovascularization after ocular trauma

To describe two cases of extrafoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) after ocular trauma successfully treated with intravitreal bevacizumab injection.

A 41-year-old man presented for progressive visual impairment in the left eye (LE). The patient had a positive history for pseudoxanthoma elasticum and suffered a blunt trauma in the LE 1 year before. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the affected eye was 20/100. Fundus examination of the LE revealed angioid streaks and a choroidal rupture with retinal hemorrhages. Fluorescein angiography (FA) revealed an extrafoveal CNV and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings demonstrated the presence of intraretinal fluid extending to the fovea. The second patient was a 61-year-old man complaining of blurred vision in the LE. Fundus examination of the LE revealed retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes, while FA showed the presence of an extrafoveal CNV close to the area of RPE attenuation. Intraretinal fluid extending to the fovea was detectable on OCT examination. An intravitreal injection of bevacizumab was proposed in both cases.

In the first patient, treatment with one intravitreal bevacizumab injection was successful in contrasting CNV activity, as OCT findings showed a resolution of intraretinal fluid accumulation. BCVA remained unchanged (20/100) over the 12-month follow-up period, most probably due to permanent alteration of the photoreceptors. In the second case, BCVA improved from 20/40 to 20/20 with complete resolution of leakage on FA and fluid on OCT 1 month after a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. Visual function remained stable over the 14-month follow-up.

Our results indicate that intravitreal bevacizumab is effective in the management of extrafoveal CNV secondary to ocular trauma.