ROLE OF AVASTIN ON THE INCIDENCE OF POST OPERATIVE VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE AFTER VITRECTOMY IN DIABETIC VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common cause of legal blindness. Five to 10% of diabetic patients suffer from the proliferative diabetic retinopathy which includes the formation of new vessels on the retina and optic disc which can be complicated as vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment. Pars plana vitrectomy along with laser photocoagulation is being used for the management of vitreous hemorrhage. In our study we used injection avastin one week before surgery to see its role on the incidence of rebleed after vitrectomy in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients were divided into 2 equal groups on the basis of simple random sampling. 25 patients in Group I were operated with routine pars plana vitrectomy with endolaser photocoagulation while in Group II all the 25 patients were given injection avastin intra-vitreally one week before surgery. Evaluation was done on the first post operative day, first follow up visit (one week) and after one month to see the incidence of re-bleed. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Fifty patients divided into two groups. In Group I, 3 patients had recurrent vitreous hemorrhage on first post-operative day, 3 patients had re-bleed on first follow up visit, and only 2 patients had re-bleed after one month. In Group II, none of the patients had recurrent vitreous hemorrhage on first post-operative day and on first follow-up visit (one week) while 2 patients had re-bleed after one month. Conclusion: Injection intravitreal Avastin (Bevacizumab) one week before surgery significantly reduces the risk of vitreous hemorrhage after vitrectomy in diabetic patients.