Abstract
Purpose::
To examine the effectiveness of a combination therapy of intravitreal pegaptanib injections and verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT-V) in treating exudative age-related macular degeneration.
Methods::
Retrospective review of 48 eyes of 47 patients with all types of exudative macular degeneration (average lesion size of 3012 microms) treated with a combination of PDT-V and .03mg pegaptanib injections. Most patients were treated every 3 to 4 weeks by alternating PDT-V with injections. The average treatment duration and follow up was 16 months with a median of 12 months.
Results::
Sixteen eyes (33%) gained an average of 24.8 letters while 27 eyes (56.3%) lost an average of 36.3 letters. The average pre-treatment vision was 20/160-2 (range: HM to 20/20) while the average post-treatment visual acuity was 20/300 (range: CF to 20/30). Twenty-eight eyes (58%) lost less than 15 letters of visual acuity. At their last checkup, 26 eyes had a visual acuity of 20/100 or better.
Conclusions::
Combination therapy may be more effective than monotherapy in improving vision. It is very effective in reducing leakage and maintaining visual acuity >20/100.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • photodynamic therapy • injection