MRI enables accurate diagnosis and follow-up in uveal melanoma patients after vitrectomy

Uveal melanoma (UM), the most common primary intraocular tumour, is often complicated by exudative retinal detachment (RD). Sometimes, this exudative RD is mistaken for a rhegmatogenous detachment and is subsequently treated with vitrectomy with silicone oil (SiOil) tamponade. As SiOil prevents ultrasound imaging, the diagnosis, treatment planning and/or follow-up of UM underlying the detachment are often severely hindered by the SiOil. We aim to develop and evaluate new MRI methods to image UM patients with a SiOil tamponade and evaluate this in vivo. A dedicated MRI protocol for 3 and 7 T was developed and subsequently evaluated in three patients. The MRI protocol developed was evaluated in three patients. In the first patient, SiOil hindered follow-up and therefore MRI was indicated. No tumour recurrence was found after two follow-up scans. The second and third patient underwent vitrectomy with SiOil for assumed rhegmatogenous RD in another hospital, during which a mass was found. In these cases, MRI was used to determine whether the lesion was UM and perform measurements to plan brachytherapy treatment. In general, the proposed workflow is more complicated on 7 T than on 3 T as the off-resonance effects scale linearly with field strength. For example, the shimming procedure needed modifications at 7 T, whereas at 3 T, the automatic shimming sufficed. However, at 7 T, higher resolution images were obtained compared with 3 T (0.6 vs. 0.8 mm(3)). A dedicated MRI protocol enables high-resolution imaging of vitrectomized eyes with SiOil tamponade, enabling treatment planning or follow-up in UM patients.