Retisert and Cataract Surgery in Patients With Severe Uveitis

Cataracts are common in eyes with uveitis. It results from inflammation or the use of topical or systemic steroids. Cataract surgery can cause an unusually severe inflammatory response, abnormal or excessive bleeding, and unexpected postoperative IOP responses such as hypertension or hypotony. Previous studies showed that successful outcome is preoperative and postoperative control of intraocular inflammation by topical, periocular, and systemic steroidal or immunosuppressive agents. In patients with severe posterior uveitis, periocular and intravitreal injections often provide only transient effects and are associated with complications such as hemorrhage, retinal detachment and endophthalmitis. Oral corticosteroid therapy are also associated with side effects to multiple organ systems in the body. A novel technology that delivers corticosteroid therapy linearly via an intravitreal, polymer-coated, sustained release implant has been developed and FDA approved to treat severe posterior segment uveitis. FA implantation effectively controls inflammation over an extended period of time in a complicated group of patients with posterior and/or panuveitis and allows reduced immunosuppression. We hope to determined whether this implant, a fluocinolone acetonide sustained drug delivery system (FA), can safely suppress postoperative inflammation when combined with phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation (phaco/PCIOL) in eyes with severe uveitis. We hypothesize that combining the implant with cataract surgery will provide better surgical outcomes by suppressing inflammation during the postoperative period. By reviewing our own surgical data at the Duke Eye Center, we intend to primarily focus on the safety and effectiveness of this surgical procedure.