Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most common retinal vascular

disorder after diabetic retinopathy and is a significant cause of visual handicap. Its prevalence has been
shown to vary from 0.7% to
1.6%. In a population-based study,3 an overall incidence
of symptomatic RVO was found in 0.21% of
patients aged 40 or older. Hayreh et al.4 investigated the
demographic characteristics of various types of RVO in
1108 patients (1229 eyes). In this study, a male:female
ratio of 1.2:1 was noted in a group of patients with
RVO.

Of the two main types of RVO, central retinal

vein occlusion (CRVO) and branch retinal vein occlusion
(BRVO), the latter is more common. A further
group is hemi-vein occlusion, a distinct clinical entity
presenting as occlusion of only one trunk of the central
retinal vein in the area of the anterior part of the optic
nerve.4 Hayreh et al.4 postulated that its pathogenesis
is closely related to CRVO.

The first case of BRVO was reported by Leber in

1877.5 Some studies showed a higher proportion of
BRVO patients older than 65 at the onset of the
disease compared to CRVO,4,6 but others found no
significance of age in the distribution of CRVO and
BRVO.7,8 BRVO is divided into two distinct entities:
major BRVO, when one of the major branch retinal
veins is occluded, and macular BRVO, when one of
the macular venules is occluded. In 66% of eyes with
BRVO, there is occlusion of the major branch in the
superotemporal quadrant followed by 22–43% of eyes
with occlusion of the major branch in the inferotemporal
quadrant.9 Owing to absent subjective BRVO
symptoms in nasal quadrants, the diagnosis of occlusion
in this localization is mostly accidental and therefore
rare.10 Very often BRVO in nasal quadrants is diagnosed
only when its complication as bleeding from
neovascularizations into the vitreous cavity occurs. The
cumulative probability of developing a second episode
of occlusion in the other eye within 4 years is about 7%
in patients with BRVO.4