Early treatment of subretinal haemorrhage in the course of exudative AMD using SF6 gas infusion and injection of intravitreal anti-VEGF — case report

Abstract

Submacular haemorrhages, which are mostly caused by exudative age-related macular degeneration, lead to a significant deterioration of visual acuity and have a poor prognosis. Therefore, quick implementation of treatment is essential. The aim was to report a case of 68-year-old patient suffering from extensive haemorrhage covering the macula treated with pure sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas infusion and two anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) intravitreal injections. A patient was referred to the clinic due to a sudden deterioration of vision and the appearance of a black spot in central vision in the right eye. The patient underwent the infusion of 0.5 ml of pure SF6 followed by maintenance of face-down position postoperatively resulting in partial displacement of submacular haemorrhage. One month after the surgery the patient was referred to two intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF in monthly intervals. The effectiveness of the treatment is confirmed by OCT examination and visual acuity results (from CF 1’ before treatment to 5/12 after the treatment). A combination of SF6 gas infusion and anti-VEGF intravitreal injections turned out to be an effective and safe method of submacular haemorrhage treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment implementation resulted in significant improvement of visual acuity.