Ciliary body and choroidal detachment after laser photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy. A high-frequency ultrasound study.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study is to clarify the manifestation of the ciliary body after retinal photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy.

DESIGN

Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) was applied to obtain the tomographic features of the anterior ocular segment.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-one eyes of 17 consecutive patients with diabetic retinopathy were included in this study.

INTERVENTION: These eyes were treated by panretinal photocoagulation divided in four sessions. In the first session, the nasal quadrant of the fundus was treated with argon or dye (590 nm) laser totaling 208 to 331 spots per eye.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The eyes were examined by UBM before, immediately after, 3, and 7 days after the first session of photocoagulation.

RESULTS

Three days after photocoagulation, ciliochoroidal detachment was observed in 19 eyes (90%). The detachment was present along the whole circumference. The ciliary detachment was most prominent in the pars plana in 19 eyes and extended to the pars plicata in 9 eyes. It spontaneously had disappeared 7 days after photocoagulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Ciliochoroidal detachment was a very frequent feature after sector photocoagulation in diabetic eyes. Although this complication was asymptomatic and transient so far, this potential hazard merits due attention in the planning of panretinal photocoagulation in diabetic eyes.