Visual outcome after endovascular intervention in Takayasu arteritis

Takayasu arteritis is a chronic multisystem vasculitis which has been known to be associated with myriad of ophthalmological manifestations. Steroids and immunomodulators are the mainstay of medical management in early stages of disease. We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with complaints of diminution of vision in both the eyes. Her ophthalmic examination suggested a diagnosis of Takayasu retinopathy with posterior ischemic optic neuropathy in her left eye and ocular ischemic syndrome in the right eye. Digital subtraction angiography revealed a significant narrowing of major vessels originating from the arch of aorta and the left vertebral artery. She underwent left subclavian artery and left vertebral artery balloon angioplasty followed by left vertebral artery stenting. Her vision improved significantly postprocedure, suggesting that endovascular intervention in the later stages of disease is a promising treatment modality for Takayasu retinopathy.