Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the outcomes of verteporfin PDT for subfoveal CNV in pathologic myopia. Methods: Twenty eight eyes of 28 consecutive patients with subfoveal CNV secondary to pathologic myopia, treated with verteporfin PDT from January 2002 to December 2003 were retrospectively evaluated. Retreatments were guided by recurrence of exudation on angiography and or OCT. The number and pattern of PDT sessions required for anatomical and functional stabilization were evaluated. Results:Mean age of the patients was 51.5. Twelve patients were older than 55. Mean follow up was 15.7 months. Mean initial visual acuity (VA) was 20/250, mean final VA was 20/160. Four patients had a decrease of vision between the initial visit and stabilization, while 2 patients had no variation of VA. Twenty two patients had a generally moderate increase of VA. A subretinal hemorrhage was initially present among 7 patients. Among these 7 patients, between the initial visit and stabilization, 4 had a rise of VA, 1 had a decrease of VA and 2 had no change of VA. Among the 28 patients, the mean number of sessions was 2.5 and no significant difference between patients older and younger than 55 was noted. Seven patients were stabilized with one PDT session, 11 patients required 2 sessions for stabilization, 4 patients required 3 sessions for stabilization, 5 patients required 4 sessions for stabilization, and 1 patient required 6 sessions until stabilization. The initial delay between the first and the second session was generally 3 months, but there was a general increase of the delay between further sessions as the number of sessions increased. Conclusions: A relatively short number of PDT session are generally required to achieve stabilization of choroidal neovessels of pathologic myopia. The functional outcome is generally better than for choroidal neovascularization of Age Related Macular Degeneration.
Keywords: choroid: neovascularization • myopia • photodynamic therapy