REVERSAL OF VISUAL-LOSS WITH HYPERBARIC-OXYGEN TREATMENT IN A PATIENTWITH SUSAC SYNDROME

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to report on a 34-year-old woman with Susac syndrome who presented on two separate occasions with visua l acuity loss from a recurrent branch retinal artery occlusion and und erwent hyperbaric oxygen treatment with favorable outcome. Methods: Vi sual acuity was 20/400 in the left eye and count fingers in the right eye after separate occlusive events. The patient underwent hyperbaric oxygen treatment on each occasion of visual acuity loss, The patient s ubsequently was diagnosed with Susac syndrome (microangiopathy of the retina, brain, and middle ear). The authors present visual fields, pho tographs, angiograms, and ancillary tests documenting diagnosis and co urse of treatment. Results: On each occasion, visual acuity improved t o 20/25 during and was maintained after hyperbaric oxygen treatment. V isual fields showed improvement immediately after treatment. Conclusio n: This is the first report of hyperbaric oxygen treatment for Susac s yndrome, Dramatic post-treatment visual field and acuity changes sugge st benefit of treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be considered a treatment option for visual complications of this syndrome. Susac s yndrome should be included in the differential diagnosis of recurrent branch retinal artery occlusion.