Purpose: To report on the two-year visual outcomes of indocyanine green angiography-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) patients.
Design: Retrospective case study.
Methods: A retrospective analysis that examined the clinical and angiographic data related to 41 eyes of 38 PCV patients (25 males, 13 females; average age +/- standard deviation [SD], 72.9 +/- 7.4 years) with follow-up periods of 24 months or more.
Results: The average number of PDT treatments was 1.65. After the 12-month follow-up, 12 eyes required retreatment. Although the mean visual acuity (VA) +/- SD before PDT (0.55 +/- 0.38 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution units) improved to 0.46 +/- 0.41 at 12 months after the initial PDT, at 24 months, it declined significantly to 0.59 +/- 0.44 (P = .0018). Although only seven of 41 eyes exhibited VA deterioration at the 12-month follow-up examination, a decreased VA was noted in 18 eyes during the period starting from the 12-month follow-up until the final examination. The cases were bilateral in 11 (61.1%) of the 18 eyes. At the final examination, the mean VA of the bilateral cases but not the unilateral cases was significantly lower than that observed for the initial VA.
Conclusions: PDT is an effective treatment against PCV over the short-term for both unilateral and bilateral cases. However, the VA prognosis may not the same after 12 months, especially for those PCV patients who have exudative age-related macular degeneration in contralateral eye.