Some patients, after receiving a particular treatment for degenerative eye diseases, have suffered side effects from Avastin injection.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Avastin is a drug prescribed to treat medical conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and other issues affecting the retina.

Avastin is inserted into the eye via injection to help slow down vision loss due to these medical conditions. It works by blocking the development of abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, “those blood vessels can leak and affect vision, causing vision loss from wet AMD and diabetic eye disease.”

What Happens During an Avastin Injection?

The Avastin injection is inserted directly into the eye during an outpatient procedure. Prior to the procedure, however, the ophthalmologist will prevent the occurrence of an infection by cleaning the eye and will numb the eye by applying some anesthetic.

Soon after, a very thin needle will be passed through the sclera, or the white part of the eye, and once through, the drug is injected. In most cases, the needle itself will not be seen. Moreover, these procedures may need to continue and injections may need to be inserted over the course of several months.

Side Effects from Avastin Injection

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, there are many risks involved in Avastin treatment. Moreover, it is important to understand the side effects from Avastin injection before continuing this treatment.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that side effects from Avastin injection includes and may not be limited to the following: a detached retina, where the retina may lift- up from the back of the eye, cataracts, the condition of cloudiness in the eye, and eye infection.

Other side effects from Avastin injection, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, include being extra sensitive to light, eye pain, dry or itchy eyes, feeling like something is in your eye, eye pain, changes in vision, which may include seeing double images, or blurriness and eye redness.

An article posted by the New York Times in 2011 notes the wariness physicians have had over the use of Avastin for eye treatment.

According to the Times, the Department of Veterans Affairs “temporarily halted use of Avastin for eye conditions” due to alleged side effects from Avastin injection.

At $50 a dose, Avastin is markedly cheaper than its competitor Lucentis, which costs $2,000 per dose. However, according to the Times, physicians across the country have reported that several patients had lost some or all vision in the affected eye after Avastin injections.

According to Dr. Robert Feig, a retina specialist in Brooklyn and the Bronx, says that although he would want to cut costs and try to save patients some money, he was concerned that using the less expensive Avastin could expose him to claims of medical malpractice.

He told the Times, “Why would I want to risk my family to save America $1,950 a dose?” Instead, Dr. Feig opted to use Lucentis, the more expensive product, instead of Avastin, for security’s sake.

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