Retinal vein occlusion

Abstract

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) are common retinal vascular disorders. Indeed, BRVO is second only to diabetic retinopathy in the frequency with which it produces retinal vascular disease (1). Both CRVO and BRVO have a characteristic, although sometimes variable, appearance with intraretinal hemorrhage, tortuous and dilated retinal veins, and occasionally optic disk edema. These findings are present in all quadrants of the fundus in CRVO and are segmental in BRVO (Figs. 1 and 2). Visual acuity loss in CRVO and BRVO are often the result of macular edema and neovascular complications (1–5). The majority of current local drug delivery approaches for retinal vein occlusion target macular edema because visual acuity loss in retinal vein occlusion is more often a result of macular edema than from neovascular complications.