Surgical excision of subfoveal neovascular membranes in age-related macular degeneration.
We studied the results of surgical excision of ten consecutive subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes in ten patients with age-related macular degeneration. The criteria for surgical eligibility included the following: (1) a clearly identifiable subfoveal membrane occupying the entire foveal avascular zone, (2) a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse, (3) minimal subretinal hemorrhage, and (4) an associated exudative macular detachment. Six of the ten patients showed visual improvement at one-month and three-month follow-up visits and seven showed visual improvement by the six-month examination. All ten maculae remained attached without recurrence of subfoveal neovascular membranes throughout the follow-up period. These results suggested that surgical excision is a viable alternative to laser photocoagulation in patients with subfoveal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration.
Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
H M
HM
Lambert
A
A
Capone
T M
TM
Aaberg
P
P
Sternberg
B A
BA
Mandell
P F
PF
Lopez
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002462:Cell Membrane; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy