Abstract
Purpose::
To investigate the recurrence of polypoidal lesions in eyes with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) more than 1 year after primary photodynamic therapy (PDT).
Methods::
Forty-three eyes of 43 Japanese patients were studied prospectively. All patients were followed clinically with fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography using the Heidelberg Retina Angiograph and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Results::
One year after administration of primary PDT, all eyes except one eye in which subretinal hemorrhage masked choroidal vasculature had residual abnormal choroidal PCV vessels, and three eyes had abnormal choroidal vessels and polypoidal lesions. There were residual abnormal choroidal vessels within the area of PDT irradiation. In two eyes, polypoidal lesions developed at the terminus of the residual abnormal choroidal vessels. Because OCT revealed serous retinal detachment extending subfoveally and the visual acuity (VA) decreased, PDT was administered again in the two eyes. The mean number of PDT treatments during the first year was 1.4. The mean VA improved from 0.72 to 0.55 logMAR (decimal VA, 0.19-0.28) (P=0.001, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test). The VA improved more than 0.3 logMAR in 14 (33%) eyes but decreased in 4 (9%) eyes.
Conclusions::
Although PDT can improve the VA in eyes with PCV, there are residual abnormal choroidal vessels, and the risk remains of developing polypoidal lesions at the terminus of the abnormal choroidal vessels.
Keywords: photodynamic therapy • age-related macular degeneration • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications