DOUBLE RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM TEARS IN NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

To describe the occurrence and treatment outcomes of double retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears in neovascular age-related macular degeneration and to elucidate the mechanism of tear development by means of multimodal imaging analysis.

Fundus autofluorescence, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography were retrospectively studied before and after the occurrence of first and second RPE tears and at the final visit.

Twelve eyes of 10 patients that developed double RPE tears, either simultaneously (6 eyes) or at variable intervals after repeated intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor administration (6 eyes), were included. First RPE tears developed after a mean of 4.5 ± 2.7 anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections; second RPE tears developed after a mean of 7.1 ± 5.2 anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections. Mean best-corrected visual acuity was 20/63 at baseline evaluation, 20/76 after occurrence of first tear, 20/90 after occurrence of second tear, and 20/95 at final visit (P > 0.05 for all). Multimodal imaging revealed in all cases a Type 1 neovascular lesion adherent to the posterior surface of the RPE and spanning a significant portion of the pigment epithelium detachment with variable orientation; after development of double tears, the RPE seemed retracted on both borders of the neovascular network.

Double RPE tears may occur on opposite sides of a vascularized pigment epithelium detachment, in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, because of neovascular contraction of a Type 1 neovascular complex, adherent to the posterior surface of the RPE and spanning a significant portion of the pigment epithelium detachment area.