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Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy a lifelong disease
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Widefield angiography is essential in diagnosing familial exudative vitreoretinopathy, but treatment type and efficacy depend on the stage of the disease, according to a speaker here.
“FEVR is a lifelong disease and regular examination is very important. Widefield angiography is a new game changer that we all have to have in our office if we’re following up these patients,” Ehab N. El Rayes, MD, PhD, told colleagues at the Retina World Congress. “Prompt treatment when you have capillary dropouts with laser to prevent the progression [is necessary]. The future will be detecting the capillary dropouts ahead of time and trying to use drugs to prevent the later exudation.”
Ehab N. El Rayes
Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) can present at any age, is typically bilateral and may lead to retinal detachment, according to El Rayes.
Treatment should depend on the stage of FEVR. Stage one, or eyes with minimal peripheral avascularity, can be observed. However, in stage two, laser photocoagulation is often necessary. Stages three to five should be treated with vitrectomy, with or without scleral buckling, El Rayes said. When operating, he noted that external drainage is useful to aid in flattening the retina.
“Vitrectomy and drainage is the way to go for surgery,” he said. – by Robert Linnehan
Reference:
El Rayes EN. Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). Presented at: Retina World Congress; Feb. 23-26, 2017; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Disclosure: El Rayes reports he is a consultant for Alcon, Novartis, MedOne Surgical, DORC, Bayer and Janssen.