Serous retinal detachment after panretinal photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy: a case report

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of visual impairment in working-age adults worldwide. Panretinal photocoagulation is a cornerstone in its management; however, it may include a range of side effects and complications, one of these being serous retinal detachment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for serous retinal detachment after panretinal photocoagulation.

A 24-year-old Saudi man with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes presented with bilateral progressive proliferative retinopathy in spite of several sessions of panretinal photocoagulation. After one additional such session, he developed bilateral serous retinal detachment and vision loss, which was managed with a single bilateral intravitreal bevacizumab injection. The serous retinal detachment subsided with partial recovery of vision.

Serous retinal detachment after panretinal photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a rare complication nowadays. In this case, it seems that excessive photocoagulation exceeded the energy-absorbing capacity of the retinal pigment epithelium, leading to a disruption of the blood-retinal barrier. A single injection of bilateral intravitreal bevacizumab was sufficient to control the serous retinal detachment. This effect may have been due to a reduction of vascular leakage resulting from the mechanism of action of this drug. No complications were noted from the injection. Caution should be exerted when attempting bilateral panretinal photocoagulation.