Abstract
Purpose: :
to describe the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of choroidal nevus.
Methods: :
26 patients with choroidal nevus were evaluated by OCT. The mean patient age was 55 years, 14 males and 12 females. Diagnostic imaging was performed with a Spectralis HRA-OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany).
Results: :
The choroidal nevus was a mean of 4.9 mm in basal dimension and 1.5 mm in thicknesss and was located a mean of 2.7 mm from the optic disk and 2.5 mm from the foveola. Related retinal findings by ophthalmoscopic evaluation and at the site of the nevus by OCT included overlying retina edema, subretinal fluid, retinal thinning, drusen, and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) detachment. Specific OCT findings of the choroidal nevus included increased thickness of the RPE/choriocapillaris layer (63%) and optical qualities within the anterior portion of the nevus of hyporeflectivity (60%), isoreflectivity (30%), and hyperreflectivity (8%). When comparing OCT with clinical examination, OCT was more sensitive in the detection of related retinal edema, subretinal fluid, retinal thinning, photoreceptor attenuation, and RPE detachment.
Conclusions: :
Spectral domain OCT is a useful diagnostic modality for imaging the retina overlying a choroidal nevus and also it is able to identify the presence of small serous detachments. Numerous overlying changes such as subretinal fluid, retinal edema, retinal thinning, and photoreceptor attenuation are visible by OCT before they become clinically visible.
Keywords: choroid • edema • retina