Treatment of macular disease with a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope laser delivery system.

Background And Objective: Some patients with macular disease, because of physical infirmity or disability, cannot be treated with laser photocoagulation using a typical slit lamp delivery system. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope could be used to deliver treatment to the macula when photocoagulation would otherwise be very difficult, if not impossible, to perform.

Materials And Methods: Ten eyes of 10 patients who could not sit for slit lamp laser delivery were treated with binocular indirect ophthalmoscope laser photocoagulation over a 36 month period. Eight had subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and 2 patients had clinically significant macular edema (CSME) from diabetes mellitus. Argon laser photocoagulation was delivered to the choroidal neovascular membrane in patients with exudative AMD, and a grid treatment was given to eyes with diabetic macular edema.

Results: Six of 8 patients with exudative AMD were successfully treated with eradication of the CNV. Two required retreatment within 6 months of original treatment. Both patients with CSME had resolution of their edema at 3 and 6 months after treatment. Best corrected visual acuity did not change by more than 2 Snellen lines in any patient with CNV and 1 Snellen line in patients with CSME. No complications of treatment were encountered.

Conclusion: In certain circumstances, laser photocoagulation of the macula using the indirect ophthalmoscope laser delivery system should be considered when more conventional treatment strategies cannot be implemented.