A growing number of eye injection patients are coming forward with reports of Avastin complications after their injection. Many note the presence of silicone floaters in their eye were left after the injection. The silicone floaters themselves may not seem that serious, but they can lead to significant side effects if left untreated.

What Exactly Is an Avastin Eye Injection?

Avastin (also known by its generic name bevacizumab) is a medication used to treat several eye diseases. Avastin was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment, but along the way, doctors found that it could also be used as a treatment for a variety of eye conditions. Now, Avastin is often prescribed as an off-label treatment 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

While off-label use of a drug like Avastin may seem a little concerning, it’s normal and perfectly legal for doctors to routinely prescribe certain drugs off-label for a variety of uses. It’s not the use of Avastin for eye conditions that causes concern for Avastin patients. Rather, it’s the injection preparation process itself that may lead to serious side effects.

Eye Injection and Avastin Complications

Avastin is applied via an injection into the eye using a pre-filled syringe. As part of the preparation process, the syringe is lubricated with a kind of silicone oil on the needle, barrel, and plunger. After the syringes are filled and lubricated with silicone oil, however, they are usually left to sit around in storage. These pre-filled syringes may spend anywhere from a few days to several weeks waiting on a shelf after they are purchased from distributors.

It is this wait time that can cause the real issue here. Over time, particles from the silicone oil used to lubricate the syringes can migrate into the Avastin drug itself. Then, when the syringe is used during an injection, these silicone particles can be injected directly into the eye itself.

Some patients report that, after undergoing an Avastin eye injection, they were left with silicone floaters in their eye. According to patients, these silicone floaters can lead to a number of Avastin complications.

Avastin Complications from Silicone Floaters

Patients report that Avastin eye injections and silicone floaters left behind can lead to a number of serious Avastin complications, 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 Complications from Injection

If you or someone you love has suffered from serious Avastin complications after injection with the drug, 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 Avastin complications, 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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