Buckling surgery and supplemental intravitreal bevacizumab or photocoagulation on stage 4 retinopathy of prematurity eyes

Purpose: To report the results of scleral buckling (SB) with or without photocoagulation (PC) and intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) for stage 4 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) eyes. Methods: Forty-two eyes of 28 patients with SB and/or PC or IVB were studied. Twenty-nine eyes had stage 4A and 13 eyes had stage 4B ROP. Seventeen eyes underwent SB combined with additional intraoperative or postoperative treatments (combined group). Twenty-five eyes underwent SB without additional therapy (non-combined group). The concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the aqueous humor determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were compared between the two groups. The initial and final reattachment rates were also compared. Results: The gestational age and birth weight were 25.0 ± 2.0 weeks and 786 ± 222 g in the combined group, and 25.5 ± 2.1 weeks and 899 ± 315 g in the non-combined group. The postmenstrual age at the time of initial surgery was 38.0 ± 1.9 in the combined and 44.1 ± 4.0 weeks in the non-combined group (P < 0.001). The initial reattachment rate was 92 % in stage 4A and 75 % in stage 4B of ROP eyes in the combined group, and the rate was 93 % in stage 4A and 33 % in stage 4B of ROP eyes in the non-combined group. The mean VEGF concentration in aqueous humor was 1923 ± 779 pg/ml in the combined group and 985 ± 303 pg/ml in the non-combined group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results show that the retinal reattachment rate after combined therapy was comparable to that in the non-combined group. We conclude that combined therapy may be effective even in ROP eyes with high activity.