Intravitreal ranibizumab for the primary treatment of choroidal neovascularization secondary to pathologic myopia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab for the primary treatment of myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV).

METHODS: Sixteen eyes of 16 consecutive patients who received 3 monthly injections of intravitreal ranibizumab for primary treatment of myopic CNV were reviewed. Additional ranibizumab injections were performed in eyes with persistent or recurrent CNV after 3 months.

RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 60.8 years, and the spherical equivalent refractive error was -10.9 D. The mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity at baseline was 0.58 (20/76). At 1 month and 12 months, the mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly to 0.39 (20/49) and 0.28 (20/37), respectively (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The mean improvement at 12 months was 3.0 lines, and 12 (75.0%) eyes had improvement of 2 or more lines. Fifteen (93.8%) eyes had angiographic closure at 3 months and 1 (6.2%) required further treatment because of persistent leakage at 3 months. Two (12.5%) patients had recurrence of CNV and required retreatment between 3 months and 9 months. Optical coherence tomography showed significant reduction in the mean central foveal thickness after treatment (P < 0.001). None of the patients developed any ocular or systemic side effects associated with intravitreal ranibizumab.

CONCLUSION: Intravitreal ranibizumab appeared to be effective for the primary treatment of myopic CNV, with a high proportion of patients sustaining visual gain after treatment.