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An Ex Vivo Choroid Sprouting Assay of Ocular Microvascular Angiogenesis
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Choroidal vascularity index changes after vitreomacular surgery.
Stanislao Rizzo1, Alfonso Savastano1, Lucia Finocchio1
1Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy.
Acta Ophthalmologica
|June 2, 2018
Summary
Epiretinal membrane removal surgery led to a decrease in the choroidal vascularity index (CVI), indicating structural changes in the choroid. This suggests potential inflammation-induced vascularization following surgery.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Retinal Surgery
- Choroidal Imaging
Background:
- Epiretinal membranes (ERMs) can cause visual distortion.
- Surgical removal via vitrectomy is a common treatment.
- Choroidal structural changes post-ERM removal are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate choroidal structural changes using swept-source (SS) optical coherence tomography (OCT).
- To quantify the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) after epiretinal membrane removal.
- To compare CVI changes in operated eyes versus fellow eyes.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, observational study of 26 patients (52 eyes).
- 26 eyes underwent vitrectomy for ERM removal (VT-group); 26 fellow eyes served as controls (F-group).
- SS-OCT scans analyzed using a modified binarization algorithm to calculate subfoveal CVI at baseline, 30, and 90 days post-surgery.
Main Results:
- The VT-group showed a significant decrease in mean CVI from baseline (63.86%) to 90 days post-surgery (61.06%) (p < 0.001).
- The F-group exhibited no significant change in mean CVI over the 90-day period (p = 0.29).
- Mean CVI values were consistently higher in the VT-group compared to the F-group at all time points.
Conclusions:
- Epiretinal membrane removal is associated with a significant decrease in choroidal vascularity.
- These findings suggest structural alterations within the choroidal vascular layers post-surgery.
- Secondary inflammation from mechanical traction may induce choroidal thickening via increased vascularization.
Keywords:
choroidal thickness evaluationchoroidal vascular indexoptical coherence tomographyvitreomacular surgeryMore Related Videos
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