Photodynamic therapy for nonsubfoveal choroidal neovascularization in 100 eyes with pathologic myopia.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the visual and anatomic outcome of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in eyes with nonsubfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with pathologic myopia (PM).


METHODS
Interventional, noncomparative cases series.


METHODS
Ninety-seven patients (100 eyes) who were treated with PDT at three centers and followed up for three to 44 months (mean 16.5 months). Outcome measures were visual acuity, lesion size, and the occurrence of subfoveal invasion.


RESULTS
Median baseline visual acuity was 20/40(-2) and ranged from 20/20 to 20/160(+2). On average, visual acuity was stable throughout follow-up after a modest increase of about 0.5 lines between three and six months. The probability of losing 3 or more lines was 10% to 15% during the second year. Lesion size (median: 710 microns) slightly decreased after the first PDT and tended to increase later, but not to a statistically significant extent compared with baseline. The probability of developing subfoveal CNV stabilized at 10% in the second year. The mean number of PDTs per individual was 2.9 in the first year and 0.6 in the second.


CONCLUSIONS
Visual and anatomic outcomes of PDT, in this large group of patients with nonsubfoveal myopic CNV and good visual acuity, suggest that it may halt the progression of the disease in most cases.
Virgili
Gianni
G
Department of Oto-Neuro-Ophthalmological Surgical Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 85, Florence 50134, Italy. gianni.virgili@unifi.it
Varano
Monica
M
Giacomelli
Giovanni
G
Arena
Maria Chiara
MC
Tedeschi
Massimiliano
M
Pascarella
Antonella
A
Catalano
Susanna
S
Menchini
Ugo
U
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005584:Fovea Centralis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047728:Myopia, Degenerative / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
D017319:Photosensitizing Agents