[Treatment of choroidal melanoma using photocoagulation]

The author defines the conditions for treatment of chorioid melanomas by photocoagulation which is restricted only to a small number of tumours. The author describes different therapeutic techniques, using photocoagulation. The success rate of treatment of chorioid melanomas by xenon photocoagulation is 50-60%, similar results are obtained with laser coagulation (maily krypton or a combination of argon and krypton). Treatment with an argon laser alone is not suitable as blue light which forms 70% of the light energy does not penetrate into the chorioid. Green light of the argon laser is suited for use in the first stage of treatment, i. e. for obliteration of retinal and chorioid vessels. The authors treated six patients with melanoma of the chorioid using combined xenon-argon therapy. During the average observation period of six years only one patient developed regression of the tumour, in another patient further growth ceased, but regression was not observed. In four patients on account of progression of the tumour the eye had to be enucleated.