Superficial ocular vascular changes after orbital decompression in patients with thyroid ophthalmopathy measured by anterior segment OCT angiography; an observational study

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 14572 - 9
• Main Authors: Rafizadeh, Seyed Mohsen, Heidari, Mostafa, Aghajani, Amirhossein, Montazeriani, Zahra, Afshar, Pedram, Mansourian, Sajad, Masoumi, Ahmad, Rajabi, Mohammad Taher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 24-06-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/163/2743; 692/699/3161; Adult; Aged; Angiography; Angiography - methods; Anterior segment-OCT angiography; Decompression; Decompression, Surgical - methods; Eye diseases; Female; Graves Ophthalmopathy - diagnostic imaging; Graves Ophthalmopathy - surgery; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Observational studies; Ocular surface; Orbit - blood supply; Orbit - diagnostic imaging; Orbit - surgery; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sexually transmitted diseases; Statistical analysis; STD; Surface circulation; Surgery; Thyroid; Thyroid eye disease; Thyroid gland; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; Anterior segment-OCT angiography; Thyroid eye disease; Ocular surface
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64925-5

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.