VITRECTOMY AND SUBRETINAL tPA INJECTION FOR SUBRETINAL HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO RETINAL ARTERIAL MACROANEURYSM: A Multicenter Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term functional and anatomical outcomes of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with subretinal recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) injection and gas tamponade in patients with subretinal hemorrhage secondary to retinal arterial macroaneurysm (RAM) rupture.

METHODS

This retrospective multicenter study included 18 eyes of 18 patients who underwent PPV with subretinal tPA injection and gas tamponade for subfoveal hemorrhage because of RAM rupture. Baseline demographic and clinical features, pre- and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), postoperative complications, and the relationship between symptom-to-surgery interval and visual outcomes were evaluated over a minimum follow-up period of 12 months.

RESULTS

The mean preoperative BCVA was approximately 20/3,300 (2.22 ± 0.73 logMAR), improving to approximately 20/140 (0.85 ± 0.57 logMAR) at the 12-month visit ( P < 0.001). Earlier surgical intervention (≤14 days) was associated with greater improvement in BCVA. Subfoveal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy developed in 38.9% of patients and was significantly associated with worse visual outcomes compared with extrafoveal atrophy ( P = 0.02). ILM peeling was performed in 44.4% of cases; although those patients tended to have greater BCVA gains, the difference was not statistically significant. RPE atrophy was observed in 77.8% of patients postoperatively, with varying progression patterns.

CONCLUSION

PPV with subretinal tPA injection and gas tamponade appears to be an effective treatment for RAM-related subretinal hemorrhage, with significant improvements in visual acuity, particularly when performed within 2 weeks of symptom onset. The location of postoperative RPE atrophy is a critical prognostic factor for visual outcomes.