Complaints regarding Avastin silicone eye floaters rose in 2016 as ophthalmologists continued to use compound pharmacies that provided pre-filled syringes.

According to a recent article from Medpage Today, Dr. Rahul Khurana of Northern California Retina Vitreous Associates found that the occurrence of Avastin silicone eye floaters increased from 0.03 percent during the October 2015 to April 2016 time period to 1.73 percent during the May to November 2016 time period.

The floaters are caused by silicone oil droplets released from the barrel of insulin syringes, which are often the syringes compound pharmacies use to provide Avastin eye injections.

Avastin is a cancer treatment drug that has become popular for off-label use to treat several eye problems, including age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy.

Avastin eye therapy works by blocking the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the back part of the eye. Left unchecked, abnormal blood vessel growth can interfere with vision. When these extra blood vessels leak, the result is wet age-related macular degeneration or a contributing factor to diabetic eye disease.

Symptoms of Avastin Silicone Eye Floaters

Khurana and fellow researchers submitted a report that looked at 60 cases of Avastin silicone eye floaters out of more than 6,600 injections completed at their eye center. Nearly 70 percent of patients had symptoms, including “floaters with spots of light.”

These silicone particles can lead to increased intraocular pressure, infection, retinal tearing or detachment, corneal damage, vision loss and other vision-related complications.

The Avastin silicone eye floaters were seen more frequently with non-primed syringes (6.4 percent) when compared to primed syringes (0.5 percent). Khurana believes the reason is syringes that are not primed need more force to expel the oil. He said the issue could be a lubricant known as polydimethylsiloxane that reduces friction in the syringe’s barrel.

The compounding pharmacy initially told Khurana “it was just a bad batch of syringes” that caused the Avastin silicone eye floaters, which led Khurana to switch to a differently designed syringe.

However, Khurana’s belief that a manufacturing problem opened the possibility that compounding pharmacies across the United States could distribute defective syringes full of Avastin, but a fellow ophthalmologist in a different office said he has seen no floaters in his patients.

The different rates of diagnosed Avastin silicone eye floaters could vary because of the length of time a filled syringe sits on a shelf. The longer the medication sits in the syringe, the more time the silicone has to mix with the medication. Any filled syringes that have been frozen are more apt to contribute to problems with Avastin silicone eye floaters.

Because compounding pharmacies prepare the Avastin-filled syringes offsite, the syringes go through a change of hands before the patient receives the medication. The procedure creates a greater risk of bacterial contamination.

If you have experienced Avastin silicone eye floaters post-injection, you could be eligible for compensation through legal representation.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Avastin silicone injection class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Avastin lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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