gms | German Medical Science

Purpose: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by postaxial polydactyly, retinitis pigmentosa, central obesity, mental retardation, hypogonadism, and renal involvement. We report a case of a blind BBS patient treated with the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System.

Methods: The Argus® II System was implanted in one eye of a blind BBS patient. The system further consists of glasses equipped with a small camera and a video processing unit that converts images into stimulation patterns which are sent to the electrode array on the retina. The primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual benefits after the low vision rehabilitation process.

Results: At 7 months after implantation the patient did not experience any serious device- or surgery-related adverse events. The low vision rehabilitation specialist did not observe substantial differences in results between the patient suffering from BBS and other Argus® II patients.

Conclusion: This case report supports the safety profile and benefit of the Argus® II System for a patient blind from BBS.