Combined fluorescein angiography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography imaging of classic choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration before and after intravitreal ranibizumab injections.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the combined fluorescein angiography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography features in a consecutive series of exudative age-related macular degeneration eyes with classic choroidal neovascularization before and after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment.

METHODS: Retrospective interventional study. All consecutive patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration because of newly diagnosed classic choroidal neovascularization visited during 3 months and treated by intravitreal ranibizumab injection on "as-needed" basis were analyzed. Combined fluorescein angiography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography examination (Spectralis Heidelberg Retina Angiograph OCT) was performed at baseline and at the 12-month follow-up visit.

RESULTS: Twenty-nine treatment-naive eyes (29 patients, 10 men and 19 women, mean age 76.28 ± 10.86 years) were included. A mean of 5.3 ± 3.5 injections was administered during 12 months. At Month 12 visit, patients showed an improved best-corrected visual acuity (P = 0.01), a reduction of linear dimension of the entire lesion on fluorescein angiography (P = 0.02), and a reduction of the entire lesion width on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (P < 0.001). At baseline, in all cases we distinguished on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography scan a highly reflective subretinal lesion, above and separate from the retinal pigment epithelium. The highly reflective subretinal lesion showed a significant reduction of width along the length of a single B-scan, at Month 12 follow-up visit (P < 0.001). It is notable that a small "discreet" pigment epithelial detachment associated with the highly reflective subretinal lesions was present in 28 of 29 eyes at baseline and after treatment (at Month 12 follow-up visit).

CONCLUSION: A discreet pigment epithelial detachment represents a common associated finding of classic choroidal neovascularization. Our study demonstrated that anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment may not only stop the growth of the highly reflective subretinal lesion that colocalize with the classic choroidal neovascularization but also determine its regression.