25-gauge vitrectomy versus intravitreal bevacizumab for macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion: 1 year follow-up.

INTRODUCTION This study aims to compare the long-term efficacy of 25-gauge vitrectomy to that of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) for the treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). MATERIALS AND METHODS The medical records of 46 eyes of 46 consecutive patients were reviewed. Twenty-seven eyes underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy (VIT Group) and 19 eyes received 1.25 mg of IVB (IVB Group). The best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) in logarithm of minimum angle resolution units and central macular thicknesses (CMTs) were evaluated before and 3, 6, and 12 months after the initial treatment. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the pre-treatment BCVA and CMT between the 2 groups. In the VIT Group, the preoperative BCVA was 0.59 and the CMT was 587.3 μm and the BCVA was 0.35 and the CMT was 286.6 μm, 12 months after the vitrectomy. Both values were significantly (P <0.05) better at 12 months than the preoperative values. In the IVB Group, the average number of IVB was 2.4 during the 1-year period. The BCVA was 0.69 and the CMT was 590.9 μm before the IVB, and the BCVA was 0.36 and the CMT was 360.1 μm, 12 months after the initial IVB. The improvements of these 2 parameters were significant (P <0.05) at 12 months after the initial IVB. The differences in the BCVA and CMT at 12 months between the 2 groups were not significant. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the 25-gauge vitrectomy and IVB have similar effects in improving the BCVA and CMT in eyes with ME secondary to BRVO. However, IVB often required several injections to preserve the improvement.