Subfoveal Choroidal Neovascular Membranes in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Visual Prognosis in Eyes With Relatively Good Initial Visual Acuity

David R. Guyer, Stuart L. Fine, Maureen G. Maguire, Barbara S. Hawkins, Sarah L. Owens, Robert P. Murphy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

We determined the visual prognosis of 94 eyes in 92 patients having (1) agerelated macular degeneration, (2) a discrete choroidal neovascular membrane directly under the center of the foveal avascular zone (subfoveal), and (3) an initial visual acuity of 20/100 or better. Of the patients who were reexamined 24 months following their initial presentation, 77% had lost at least four lines of vision and 64% had lost at least six lines. Estimation of visual loss using a conservative assessment procedure showed four-line visual loss in 65% of the patients and six-line loss in 50%. In general, the better the visual acuity at the initial examination, the more likely the patient was to have a smaller choroidal neovascular membrane. These results suggest that it may be reasonable to consider a randomized clinical trial of laser photocoagulation for this group of patients with a relatively poor visual prognosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)702-705
Number of pages4
JournalArchives of ophthalmology
Volume104
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1986
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Subfoveal Choroidal Neovascular Membranes in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Visual Prognosis in Eyes With Relatively Good Initial Visual Acuity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this