Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the long-term changes of foveal thickness and visual acuity after transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) in eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: TTT was performed on 36 eyes of 35 patients with AMD. Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiograms showed predominantly classic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in 8 eyes, predominantly occult CNV in 18 eyes, and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in 10 eyes. The follow-up period after TTT was more than 1 year in all cases. The visual acuity (log MAR) and optical coherence tomographically (OCT)-determined foveal thickness were examined before, and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after TTT. Results: The pre-TTT visual acuity was 0.91±0.50 (mean±SD), and post-TTT visual acuity was 0.98±0.53 at 1month, 1.04±0.48 at 3 months, 1.13±0.50 at 6 months, and 1.10±0.41 at 12 months. The post-TTT visual acuity was significantly lower than the pre-TTT acuity at 3, 6, and 12 months (P=0.015, 0.009, and 0.022, respectively). At 1 year, the visual acuity improved in 7 eyes (19.4%), did not change in 13 eyes (36.1%), and decreased in 16 eyes (44.4%). The foveal thickness was 395.1±139.5 µm before TTT, and 370.6±175.1 µm at 1 month, 361.4±159.6 µm at 3 months, 363.2±175.1 at 6 months, and 374.2±166.7 µm at 12 months after TTT. Although significant reductions were observed at 1, 3, and 6 months post-TTT compared to the pre-TTT value (P=0.044, 0.025, and 0.033, respectively), the difference at 12 months was not significant (P=0.26). Conclusion: One year after TTT, the visual acuity remained stable in more than 50% of the treated patients, however, there was no significant improvement in the foveal thickness. These results suggest that TTT may have only limited long-term effects in the treatment for AMD.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, S