Introduction
diabetic retinopathy, TRD, PDR, Diabetic retinopathy, tractional retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, vision loss, diabetes
DIABETIC RETINOPATHY, TRACTIONAL RETINAL DETACHMENT, DIABETIC RETINOPATHY, POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS, RETINA, PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY (PDR), VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE, COMPLICATIONS, DIABETES
Patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) are becoming more and more predominant in many countries with the increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes. The standard and effective surgical treatment for vitreous hemorrhage (VH) and tractional retinal detachment (TRD) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Although the anatomical success rate of vitrectomy for PDR is good, it can have a few postoperative complications sometimes. Postvitrectomy VH is one of the most common complications after vitrectomy in PDR and has been reported with success rates ranging between 17 and 75% (The level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is elevated in the retina of patients with diabetes (Aflibercept is a fully humanized recombinant fusion protein that has a molecular weight of 115 kDa and is made by fusing the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the second domain of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR-1) and the third domain of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2). It can bind to not only all subtypes of VEGF but also placental growth factor (PlGF). The affinity of aflibercept for vascular endothelial growth factor-A165 (VEGF-A165) is 94 times greater than that of ranibizumab and approximately 120 times greater than that of bevacizumab. The intravitreal half-life of aflibercept is greater than those of ranibizumab and bevacizumab (4.7 vs 2.9 days and 4.3 days) (