Subconjunctival bevacizumab for corneal neovascularization secondary to topical anesthetic abuse

Abstract

We report the clinical course of a 56-year-old patient diagnosed with toxic keratopathy due to topical anesthetic abuse. One month later, while a large corneal epithelial defect persisted, the cornea developed circumferential neovascularization that was treated with subconjunctival bevacizumab. Corneal neovascularization (CN) showed a dramatic regression 1 week after subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab. The epithelial defect slowly healed, no complications were observed, and no recurrence observed after 4 months of follow-up. In conclusion, bevacizumab may be valid complementary treatment in patients with CN secondary to topical anesthetic abuse. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CN due to topical anesthetic abuse benefiting from treatment of subconjunctival bevacizumab.

Keywords::

• Bevacizumab
• subconjunctival injection
• corneal neovascularization
• tetracaine abuse