Surgical management of age-related macular degeneration

The development of increasingly refined vitreoretinal surgical techniques has resulted in a variety of surgical procedures for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). These have included submacular surgery with removal of choroidal neovascular membranes and subretinal blood, intraoperative lysis of feeder vessels, pneumatic displacement of subretinal blood and macular translocation surgery. The goals of these procedures have been to improve upon the poor natural history of exudative AMD and restore useful central vision. This article reviews the varied approaches, results and complications of the surgical management of AMD.