Several Avastin (bevacizumab) patients have developed Avastin silicone floaters in their eyes after receiving eye injections with the chemotherapy drug.

Prior to Avastin being injected into the eyes of cancer patients, the cancer medication is placed into syringes that are sometimes lubricated with silicone oil. The silicone oil in the syringe can leak out of the needle into patients’ eyes leaving behind Avastin silicone floaters.  Silicone eye floaters often resemble tiny bubbles.

What is Avastin?

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Avastin is a cancer medication prescribed by physicians to treat several eye-related diseases. Avastin is prescribed to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), help treat problems of the retina, treat diabetic eye disease, and can help slow vision loss due to eye-related diseases.

Avastin works by restricting the development of abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye. Abnormal blood vessels need VEGF, a body chemical, to grow and Avastin blocks VEGF from being made. Because Avastin inhibits the formation of VEGF the medication is often termed as an anti-VEGF drug. By limiting the growth of blood vessels in the eye, Avastin reduces the number of blood vessels that may leak and negatively affect a person’s vision. This helps prevents vision loss from wet AMD and diabetic eye disease.

Complications of Avastin Silicone Floaters

It must be said that the issue with Avastin injections is not with the actual drug, but rather the drug’s delivery. For the treatment of eye diseases, Avastin is placed into syringes by compounding pharmacies. The syringes are lubricated with silicone oil. The silicone migrates from the syringes’ needle, barrel, and plunger, and mixes with the drug, potentially causing a multitude of complications once a patient becomes injected with the cancer medication.

Avastin silicone floaters may cause a variety of side effects including:

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

According to the New York Times, in addition to these side effects, Avastin silicone eye injections have also increased patients’ risks for the development of bacterial infection. The report, published on Aug. 30, 2011, also stated that Avastin injections had even led to patient blindness. The report mentions at least 16 people contracted severe eye infections.

The risk, according to the New York Times, is associated with the “money-saving practice” of Avastin injection. The report asserts that Avastin is prescribed as an off-label medication because the drug costs only $50 per injection, in comparison to Lucentis, another Genentech drug, that costs $2,000 per injection for the same kind of treatment.

According to the New York Times, “The off-label use of Avastin has saved Medicare and patients hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But dividing a vial of Avastin into numerous tiny doses for injection into the eye introduces the risk of bacterial contamination.”

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.

Learn More