Korean J Ophthalmol.  1999 Jun;13(1):30-35. 10.3341/kjo.1999.13.1.30.

Surgical treatment of subretinal neovascular membrane

• Park KH
• Yu HG
• Yu YS
• Park KH
• Chung H
• Lee J

• KMID: 1081833
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.1999.13.1.30

Abstract

The visual results of laser photocoagulation for subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) has not always been satisfactory. The surgical removal of the neovascular membrane may be another treatment option. To investigate the prognosis and risk factors of this surgery, we analyzed the results of surgical removal of subfoveal CNVM (23 eyes), subfoveal hemorrhage with CNVM (6 eyes), and subfoveal hemorrhage alone (6 eyes). The mean follow-up period was 17.7 months (range 2 to 47 months). The mean preoperative membrane size was 0.89 disc diameter and the mean postoperative retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) defect size was 1.33 disc diameter. Visual improvement was observed in 13 out of the 23 eyes (56.5%) with sufoveal CNVM, four out of the six eyes (66.6%) with subretinal hemorrhage and CNVM, and five out of the six eyes (83.3%) with subretinal hemorrhage only. The visual outcome of subfoveal CNVM surgery was related to the presence of a subfoveal RPE defect (p = 0.005) rather than to the size of the RPE defect. No recurrence of neovascular membrane was observed during the follow up period. In conclusion, surgical removal may be a good alternative treatment for subfoveal CNVM.

Keyword

Laser photocoagulation; Subfoveal neovascular membrane; Subfoveal surgery; Subfoveal RPE defect

MeSH Terms

Choroidal Neovascularization/surgery*
Choroidal Neovascularization/diagnosis
Choroidal Neovascularization/complications
Comparative Study
Female
Fluorescein Angiography
Fovea Centralis/surgery
Fovea Centralis/pathology
Fundus Oculi
Human
Laser Coagulation*
Male
Middle Age
Pigment Epithelium of Eye/pathology
Prognosis
Retinal Hemorrhage/surgery
Retinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis
Retinal Hemorrhage/complications
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Visual Acuity