Back to Freepaper Session

Floater laser or YAG vitreolysis, results of a large prospective case series

Session Details

Session Title: Special Cases

Session Date/Time: Monday 07/10/2013 | 17:00-18:30

Paper Time: 17:15

Venue: Elicium 1 (First Floor)

First Author: : F.Gerbrandy THE NETHERLANDS

Co Author(s): :    I. Birker   F. Hageman           

Abstract Details

Purpose:

Vitreous floaters are a very common problem. Most patients intuitively prefer floaterlaser over a vitrectomy. However there are no reports about its safety and efficacy. We present the results of 151eyes of 110 patients treated by an experienced surgeon.

Setting:

Single center, single surgeon, prospective case series.

Methods:

Patients with visuable floaters that were not too close to the retina or crystalline lens were included if their floaterscore was 5 or higher. They were asked to score the severity of their symptoms on a scale from 1 to 10 before and after each treatment. They were all treated with YAG laser by FG. At the end of follow up they were asked to fill out a questionnaire about improvement of vision, symptoms of floaters, possible eye problems after treatment and satisfaction about the result. They were also asked if they would choose this treatment again or if they would recommend it to other people.

Results:

151 eyes of 110 patients were included. Average follow up was 370 days. Average floater score was 7,64 before laser and 3,94 after laser. Average number of treatments was 2,12. Symptoms improved in 86.0% of patients, remained the same in 10,0% and became worse in 4.0%. Adverse events: 1 retinal detachment (0,66%), 1 reactivation of mild uveitis, 2 cases of transient rise of eye pressure no case of visual loss. Patient satisfaction: 85.6% of patients was satisfied with the result, 14.4% was not satisfied.

Conclusions:

Floaterlaser offers a surprisingly effective and safe treatment for disturbing floaters. Although the technique is difficult to master and not all types of floaters can be treated, its excellent safety and efficacy profile makes floaterlaser and ideal first treatment of vitreous floaters. In case of laser failure a floater-only-vitrectomy (FOV) could serve as a back up. Reported rates for FOV are: 2.5-10.9% retinal detachment, 0.86-5.6% severe visual loss/legal blindness and 85-97% satisfied patients. A disadvantage of floaterlaser is that some types of floaters can recur. Most of those can be succesfully retreated.

Financial Interest:

... receives consulting fees, retainer, or contract payments from a competing company, ... travel has been funded, fully or partially, by a competing company