Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To report the successful treatment of choroidal neovascular membrane in a child proven genetically to have choroideremia. Methods: An eleven year old boy presented with metamorphopsia and visual acuity of 20/200 due to extrafoveal choroidal neovascular membrane in the right eye. The lesion in the right eye was treated with laser therapy immediately. Clinical findings (diffuse choroidal and retinal pigment epithelial atrophy) and family history of "retinitis pigmentosa" in the child's maternal grandfather led the author to test the patient for choroideremia. The patient's blood was sent to the University of Alberta for analysis and proved him to have choroideremia. Choroideremia is a progressive x-linked recessive chorioretinal degeneration. Affected males show bilateral, diffuse chorioretinal atrophy and complain of nyctalopia and constricted visual fields. The macula is usually spared until late in the disease process unless a choroidal neovascular membrane appears. There are a few reports of choroidal neovascular membrane in children with choroideremia, but we have found no report of successful laser therapy. Results: The child's vision improved to 20/30 after application of focal laser therapy. Conclusions: Choroidal neovascular membrane is a known complication of choroideremia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful laser therapy for choroidal neovascular membrane in a child with choroideremia.
Keywords: choroid: neovascularization • laser • retinal degenerations: hereditary