Premium
To investigate the effectiveness of transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) for neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Author(s) -
THIAGARAJAN M,
MATTHEWS N
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2008.628.x
Subject(s) - medicine , macular degeneration , visual acuity , ophthalmology , choroidal neovascularization , surgery
Purpose The effectiveness of TTT was investigated in terms of the change in Snellen visual acuity (VA) in patients having neovascular ARMD. Methods A total of 84 patients with neovascular ARMD were recruited and the main outcome measures were Snellen VA both before and after TTT. Those with persistent oedema were retreated when assessed after 8 weeks with FFA or after subsequent visits. Results No more than 1 Snellen line was lost in 44(68.8%) patients at 3 months, 41(71.9%) patients at 6 months, and 23 (53.5%) patients at 12 months. There was more than 2 Snellen lines lost in 20(31.2%) patients at 3 months, 16(28.1%) patients at 6 months and 20(46.5%) patients at 12 months. Only 24 patients required more than a single treatment. Conclusion TTT treatment for neovascular ARMD shows the VA to be stable in the short‐term as the majority had no more than a single Snellen line of VA loss. The limitations of this study are the mean follow‐up of 6 months and no more than 50% having 12‐month follow‐up.