Thermal Laser Monotherapy for Extrafoveal Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is a vascular disease of the choroid. Diagnosis is mainly based on polypoidal aneurysm-like lesions seen in indocyanine green (ICG) angiography. Various therapeutic options have been proposed.

Outcomes of 10 cases with extrafoveal PCV and consecutive macular edema treated with thermal laser are reported. Diagnosis of PCV was confirmed by ICG angiography.

Upon successful occlusion of the polyps in 10 eyes after thermal laser treatment demonstrated in ICG angiography, a regression of central foveal edema was seen in optical coherence tomography and color fundus photography. Visual acuity improved from logMAR 0.8 to logMAR 0.3. Follow-up ranged from 4 months to 15 years, with a median of 1 year. Two eyes had a recurrence of exudative maculopathy 5 and 7 years after laser treatment, respectively.

A careful differentiation between various subforms of exudative maculopathy using fluorescein and ICG angiography can identify certain selected patients with extrafoveal PCV, for whom thermal laser monotherapy can be a therapeutic option.