In vivo early retinal structural alterations following laser photocoagulation using three-dimensional spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Abstract

To study the retinal structural alterations and surface topography of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) immediately following laser photocoagulation up to day 7. Cross-sectional retinal imaging and RPE segmentation maps on spectral domain optical coherence tomography were obtained immediately at hour 1, day 1, day 4 and day 7 following 532 nm neodymium:YAG laser photocoagulation in a 56-year-old male patient for branch retinal vein occlusion. Immediately postlaser, loss of reflectivity of all the retinal layers was observed. At hour 1, hyper-reflectivity of outer retinal layers was observed with increase in hyporeflective spaces by day 1. Immediately postlaser, pitting of the RPE was observed on surface topography which regressed at day 1. On day 4, smooth RPE surface topography was observed with the occurrence of small elevated areas on day 7. The present report provides an insight into the in vivo changes in the retinal structure and RPE surface topography after laser photocoagulation.

Dense laser at the papillomacular bundle does not cause loss of visual function

“…Recovery of the inner retina is seen at day 1, suggesting that while the entire neuroretina is initially affected by the local thermal reaction of conventional laser, the RPE absorbs most of the energy, preventing significant damage to inner retinal morphology. [12][13][14] Despite evidence signifying that scrupulous application of laser can be safely and effectively delivered to the region underlying the PMB, there remains a degree of controversy in the literature. In particular, discussion of the role of JPL in the treatment of optic disc pit maculopathy (ODP-M) and peripapillary CNVM yields various opinions.…”