Retinal Venous Occlusive Disease

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most common retinal vascular disease following diabetic retinopathy and has three distinct types based on the site of obstruction: branch, central and hemiretinal. The most common cause of vision loss in RVO is macular edema; other causes of vision loss include macular ischemia, intraretinal hemorrhage, epiretinal membrane, retinal pigment epithelial irregularity, and neovascularization with secondary vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment, and/or neovascular glaucoma. Age, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other systemic diseases are risk factors for RVO. Treatment options for RVO can be categorized as pharmacotherapy (e.g., anti-vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] agents, corticosteroids), thermal laser treatment, surgical treatment, and combination therapy. This chapter reviews the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, complications, differential diagnosis, and various treatment modalities for RVO.