BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To assess the safety and effectiveness of transpupillary thermotherapy treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane secondary to pathologic myopia.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Seventy-four patients (74 eyes) with pathologic myopia underwent transpupillary thermotherapy treatment using a 3.0-mm spot size, 1-minute duration, and 520-mW power delivered through a contact lens. Clinical evaluation included measurement of best-corrected Snellen visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fundus color photography, and fluorescein angiography.
RESULTS
Sixty-four eyes (86%) received one treatment session. Six eyes (8%) improved 0.1 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) visual acuity post-treatment, 10 eyes (13.5%) lost more than 0.2 LogMAR acuity, and another 10 eyes (13.5%) lost 0.1 LogMAR acuity. The remaining 48 eyes (65%) had unchanged visual acuity after the last follow-up visit.
CONCLUSION
Transpupillary thermotherapy preserves vision in patients with choroidal neovascular membrane associated with pathologic myopia. Younger patients and eyes with higher refractive error are more likely to benefit from treatment.
[Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2010;41:12-17.]
AUTHORS
From the Department of Ophthalmology, Alexandria University Hospitals, Alexandria, Egypt.
Accepted for publication April 27, 2009.
The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.
Address correspondence to Khaled S. Nabawi, MD, FRCS Ed, 4, Mahmoud Shaker Abdelmonem Street, Apt# 301, Smouha, Alexandria, Egypt.
doi: 10.3928/15428877-20091230-02
