Early Safety and Performance Results from the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis implantations in Iran

Purpose: For the first time in Iran, four persons suffering from bilateral blindness due to RP received Argus-II prosthesis implantation. In this study, we report early results of this procedure in our patients. Methods: In this prospective consecutive case series, four blind patients with advanced RP (with bilateral bare light-perception vision) who met the international patient-selection criteria were enrolled into the study. The primary outcome measures were safety (considering early complications) and physical characteristics of electrodes in the fitting session (4 weeks after the operation). Results: Argus-II retinal prostheses were successfully implanted in all patients. In the fitting session, 60/60 of the electrodes were activated in all cases with low impedance range (less than 50 Kohms). At the end of this session, all patients perceived hand motion and vague pattern recognition. After two visual rehabilitation sessions, every patient had measurable grating visual acuity from 2.6 to 2.9 logMAR (mean, 2.72; SD, 0.24). Conclusion: Our first experience on Argus-II implantation, no significant surgical or early postoperative complication has occurred. All Argus-II retinal prosthesis implants had proper placement with near apposition to the retina and revealed acceptable performance. All of our patients showed measurable improvement in visual acuity and visuocortical pathways functional tests