Bo's abdominal acupuncture treatment for macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion: A case report

We report the case of a 56-year-old male patient who underwent panretinal laser photocoagulation for left central retinal vein occlusion. One month after surgery, he developed blurred and distorted vision. Optical coherence tomography revealed macular edema in the left eye. The patient received three intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections and oral Chinese herbal medicine for 4 months; however, no significant improvements in symptoms or imaging findings were observed. The patient subsequently presented with a sudden decrease in visual acuity in the left eye, distorted vision, dry eye, a sensation of swelling and friction, a narrowed visual field, and a cotton-like visual obstruction. He then visited a traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture clinic and received Bo's abdominal acupuncture. The selected abdominal acupoints included Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), left Shangqu (KI 17), right KI 17, Qihai (CV 6), left Qipang (AB 7), Guanyuan (CV 4), left Qixue (KI 13), left Huaroumen (ST 24), left Shangfengshidian (AB 1), right ST 24, and right AB 1. After 3 months of treatment, ocular discomfort largely resolved, and the best-corrected visual acuity of the left eye improved from 0.08 (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [LogMAR] 1.10) to 0.25 (LogMAR 0.60). The maximum recognition distance for the same target character increased from 30 cm at the initial visit to 82 cm after treatment, representing an improvement of 52 cm. Fundus imaging showed that central subfield thickness decreased from 596 μm to 216 μm, cube volume from 16.5 mm³ to 11.4 mm³, and average cube thickness from 459 μm to 316 μm, with no significant differences observed between the left and right eyes. Bo's abdominal acupuncture may serve as a complementary therapy for macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion.