A growing link continues to emerge between Avastin eye injection and silicone floaters left in the eye. While silicone floaters may seem relatively harmless in scale, patients are reporting suffering from side effects caused by this problem.

Basics of Avastin Silicone Eye Injections

Avastin (also known by its generic name, bevacizumab) is a medication applied via injection and used to treat certain eye diseases.

Interestingly, Avastin was first used as a kind of cancer treatment. Its use as a treatment for eye diseases was discovered by doctors along the way, and the medication is now used in injections for a number of eye diseases.

The eye diseases treated by Avastin eye injection include:

• Macular degeneration
• Retinal vein occlusion
• Diabetic macular edema
• Diabetic retinopathy

Avastin has only been approved officially by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat cancer. Its use as an eye injection for these diseases is an off-label function. Off-label use may sound sketchy, but it’s actually normal and legal for drugs to be prescribed for off-label purposes.

It is not the off-label use of Avastin for eye disease treatment that concerns patients, but rather a problem with how the injections are prepared that may expose patients to significant risks.

Avastin Eye Injection and Silicone Floaters

Avastin eye injections have been linked with a number of problems. While one might expect that any side effects of Avastin injections would be related to the Avastin drug itself—bevacizumab—it is actually linked with the process by which the eye injections are prepared.

Avastin eye injections involve pre-filling a syringe. Silicone oil is then used to lubricate the syringes in several places, on the needle, barrel and plunger.

After they are prepared, these syringes usually spend anywhere from a few days to several weeks waiting on a shelf after pharmacies purchase them from distributors. The wait time is what causes the issue.

Over time, particles from the silicone oil lubrication can migrate into the Avastin drug itself, which allows silicone particles to eventually be injected directly into a patient’s eye.

A growing number of patients report that they underwent Avastin eye injection and silicone floaters were left behind in their eye, causing a number of complications.

Side Effects of Avastin Eye Injection and Silicone Floaters

Patients report that Avastin eye injection and silicone floaters that are left behind can lead to a number of serious side effects, including the following:

• Increased intraocular pressure
• Inflammation
• Infection (endophthalmitis)
• Retinal tearing
• Retinal detachment
• Cataract formation
• Glaucoma (increased pressure in the eye)
• Hypotony (reduced pressure in the eye)
• Corneal damage
• Vision loss/blindness
• Other sight-related complications

Filing a Lawsuit Over Avastin Eye Injection and Silicone Floaters

If you or someone you love has suffered from serious complications caused by Avastin eye injection and silicone floaters left behind, such as infection or inflammation, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by these side effects, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses and lost wages.

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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