Treatment review of sight threatening circumscribed choroidal haemangioma

To describe our clinical experience in treating circumscribed choroidal haemangioma (CCH) in a tertiary referral centre over a fifteen year period prior to photodynamic therapy.

The departmental database and photographic records of a tertiary referral center were used to identify patients who were treated for CCH between 1992 and 2007. Their case records were reviewed.

Visual acuity improved (>2 Snellen lines) in eleven patients (69%) remained stable in one patient (6%) and deteriorated in four patients (25%). Six of the seven treated with brachytherapy and three of the four treated with transpupillary thermotherapy achieved better visual acuity after treatment. 86% of patients treated within six months of onset of symptoms and 50% of patients treated after six months of onset of symptoms noted an improvement in visual acuity. Only one patient in our series had a final VA of 6/60 or worse. Mean follow-up was thirty-five months.

Visual outcome is better when treatment is performed within 6 months of symptoms. The majority of patients achieved an improvement in visual acuity without any adverse effect following treatment.