A systematic overview

Management of macular hemorrhage, edited by Lars-Olof Hattenbach. Published by Springer

Leigh Spielberg

Published: Saturday, June 1, 2019

Macular haemorrhage remains one of the most difficult ophthalmic entities to manage, so I jumped at the chance to review Management of Macular Hemorrhage (Springer). As a vitreoretinal surgeon myself who often encounters this pathology, I could always learn more. Edited by Lars-Olof Hattenbach, this 93-page book quickly points out that “there is currently no consensus regarding the ideal treatment for macular hemorrhage”. There are indeed no easy-to-follow recipes for success. Instead, the text aims to “provide a systematic overview of therapeutic approaches that cover the most important situations a vitreoretinal surgeon might encounter when treating patients with this disorder”. Macular haemorrhage, which is a severe complication of a variety of ocular disorders such as AMD, arterial macroaneurysm and valsalva retinopathy, used to spell the absolute end of useful central visual acuity. However, since the development of various techniques involving intravitreal or subretinal injection of rtPA, choroidal-RPE grafts, gas tamponade and anti-VEGF, the prognosis is significantly better, although still highly variable and frustratingly unpredictable. This book covers not only the surgical techniques but the indications for surgery, making it useful not only for retinal specialists but also for general ophthalmologists interested in providing their patients with correct and efficient referrals in a timely fashion.