Superficial Ocular Vascular Changes After Orbital Decompression in Patients With Thyroid Ophthalmopathy Measured by Anterior Segment Oct Angiography; an Observational Study Publisher Pubmed



Rafizadeh SM¹ ; Heidari M^{1, 4} ; Aghajani A¹ ; Montazeriani Z² ; Afshar P¹ ; Mansourian S¹ ; Masoumi A³ ; Rajabi MT¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Scientific Reports Published:2024

Abstract

Thyroid eye disease (TED) is a common ophthalmologic manifestation of thyroid dysfunction. Despite various imaging techniques available, there hasn't been a widely adopted method for assessing the anterior segment vasculature in TED patients. Our study aimed to evaluate alterations in ocular surface circulation following orbital decompression surgery in TED patients and investigate factors influencing these changes. Using anterior segment optical coherence tomography-angiography (AS-OCTA), we measured ocular surface vascularity features, including vessel density (VD), vessel diameter index (VDI), and vessel length density (VLD), both before and after decompression surgery, alongside standard ophthalmic examinations. Our AS-OCTA analysis revealed a significant decrease in most of the temporal vasculature measurements six weeks post-surgery (p < 0.05). However, differences in the nasal region were not statistically significant. These findings indicate notable changes in ocular surface circulation following orbital decompression in TED patients, which may have implications for intraocular pressure (IOP) control and ocular surface symptoms management. AS-OCTA holds promise as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of decompression surgery and assessing the need for further interventions. © The Author(s) 2024.