Submacular Hemorrhage Following Aflibercept Intravitreal Injection: A Report of Two Cases

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections are the most effective treatment for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, both bevacizumab and ranibizumab have been reported to cause submacular hemorrhage (SMH) in the treatment of exudative AMD. Aflibercept has also been reported to cause SMH but only in the treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and not exudative AMD. This case series presents two patients with exudative AMD who developed SMH after treatment with aflibercept injections. The first patient is an 84-year-old female with exudative AMD in both eyes who presented with SMH four days after an aflibercept injection in her right eye. The second patient is a 77-year-old female who presented with exudative AMD in her left eye and SMH one month following an aflibercept injection. This case series shows that SMH in patients treated for exudative AMD is a rare yet possible complication of aflibercept injection that requires further research to establish its incidence and risk factors.