Ayurvedic management of pseudophakic cystoid macular edema: A case report

Abstract

After cataract surgery, pseudophakic Cystoid macular edema is one of the main challenges to deal with for an ophthalmologist. It is a painless condition in which swelling or thickening occurs in the central retina (macula). Surgical trauma triggers the cascade of inflammatory reactions, leading to the breakdown of the blood-retinal barriers that lead to increased retinal capillary permeability which further causes edema. A 65-year-old female patient visited Shalakya tantra OPD with complaints of diminished vision in the right eye for two months. After a fundoscopic examination, she was diagnosed with right eye pseudophakic cystoid macular edema. The diagnosis was confirmed with OCT findings of the right eye. Intravitreal injections are costly and do not guarantee the reduction in pseudophakic CME. The patient was given Shamanaushadhis like punarnavasava vrihatavasakadi kwath, gokshuradi guggulu, chandraprabha vati and eranda taila as rechana dravya along with jalaukavacharan to reduce the edema caused by the fluid accumulation in the macular region. Significant improvement was seen in the patient’s visual acuity along with the reduction in macular edema.