[Modern aspects of surgical treatment of branch retinal vein occlusion].

The review provides an update on the surgical management of branch retinal vein occlusion. Arteriovenous sheathotomy is shown to be the only clinically evaluated and approved technique for surgical decompression of occluded retinal vein; it is based on indirect mechanical effect of reducing external vascular compression to improve the blood flow. Despite visual improvement in some patients, capillary reperfusion was not always achieved. Results of our own experimental studies are described to substantiate the use of a low-energy near-infrared Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser for direct non-mechanical destruction of thrombotic material to immediately restore the blood flow in retinal vein. Synchronous multiphoton femtosecond laser scanning microscopy is used to perform non-invasive three-dimensional retinal vein imaging with a submicrometer resolution during ablation. The technique allows to choose proper targets and monitor laser-assisted removal of the tissue.