gms | German Medical Science

Artificial Vision 2017

The International Symposium on Visual Prosthetics

01.12. - 02.12.2017, Aachen

ARGUS II retinal implant application in a patient with history of epilepsy

Meeting Abstract

  • Nilufer Unal - Medical School of Istinye University, Liv Hospital International, Istanbul, Turkey
  • F. Akkan - Etiler Dunyagoz Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  • E. Altındag - Medical School of Istanbul Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
  • R. Arslantas - Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey
  • Y.Z. Arslan - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

Artificial Vision 2017. Aachen, 01.-02.12.2017. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2017. Doc17artvis30

doi: 10.3205/17artvis30, urn:nbn:de:0183-17artvis307

Veröffentlicht: 30. November 2017

© 2017 Unal et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Gliederung

Text

Objective: A case is reported in which Argus II retinal implant was used to treat a blind patient with a history of epilepsy.

Material and Methods: Thirty-six years old male was examined to find out if he was eligible for Argus II treatment. His visual acuity was just a bare light perception in both eyes. His ocular examination revealed that the patient was suffering from visual loss due to the advanced outer retinal degeneration associated with late-stage retinitis pigmentosa. Following the comprehensive ophthalmic examination and the standard screening procedure, he was identified to be a suitable candidate to receive the Argus II retinal prosthesis system. Although his findings were consistent with the Argus II retinal implant, neurology consultation was requested due to the use of antiepileptic drugs in the story.

Results: Following the neurological assessment and reviewing the literature on cochlear implant applications in epilepsy, it was decided that the patient's condition was not contraindicated for Argus II retinal prosthesis system. The surgical procedure was performed without any complications. Preoperative, intraoperative, early postoperative, system fitting, system on and rehabilitation periods maintained on antiepileptic therapy and followed by close clinical observation. After 19 months follow-up, treatment resulted in improvement of functional low-vision observer-rated assessment without any neurological complications.

Discussion: We conclude that Argus II retinal implant application is not a hazardous intervention in this patient with acute symptomatic seizures. The patient showed substantial development of his orientation, mobility, confidence, social connection and joy of being visual again.

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Dunyagoz Foundation.