Panretinal photocoagulation for radiation-induced ocular ischemia

We present preliminary findings on the effectiveness of panretinal photocoagulation in preventing neovascular glaucoma in eyes with radiation-induced ocular ischemia. Our study group consisted of 20 patients who developed radiation-induced ocular ischemia following cobalt-60 plaque radiotherapy for a choroidal or ciliary body melanoma. Eleven of the 20 patients were treated by panretinal photocoagulation shortly after the diagnosis of ocular ischemia, but nine patients were left untreated. In this non-randomized study, the rate of development of neovascular glaucoma was significantly lower (p = 0.024) for the 11 photocoagulated patients than for the nine who were left untreated.