Has anybody had VEGF inhibitor/Eylea instead of Laser for Retinopathy?

[jlury]

Hi All, I have proliferative Retinopathy and over the last 15 years have had a lot of pan retinal photocoagulation (PRP aka "Laser") to both eyes. I have passed the visual field tests and been able to keep my driving licence. Recently I had a new retinal bleed in one eye and have been referred for more PRP/Laser. I am concerned that if I lose more peripheral vision I will lose my driving licence, but I read the 2017 article in the Lancet which compared the VEGF inhibitor Eylea (Aflibercept) against laser, and the Eylea came out at least as well as the laser and did not damage the peripheral vision. So it makes me think that maybe I could pay to have Eylea (because it is not covered by the NHS/NICE for Proliferative Retinopathy). Has anybody had Eylea in a similar scenario? ... and paid for it? NB I do not have Macular Oedema.
Thanks for any feedback.

 

[daducky88]

Sounds interesting jlury.
Have you made any progress with this?
I'd request a telco with my consultant to kick things off e.g. what he/she think?
- On the hosp appt letters, there shd be an Opthamology contact tel no/ email address.
Good luck 🙂

 

[AJLang]

I could be wrong bUt I don’t think the eye injection drugs are authorised for retinopathy use in the UK, just for macula issues. However, and I don’t know the answer, I think the only possibility is if a private opthalmologist can prescribe it off license. If that is possible and you want to pursue whether that is an option it would be worth contacting a private retinal consultant who also works for one of the big eye hospitals such as the private arm of Moorfields.