Surgical removal of non-age-related subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes

Purpose To assess anatomical and visual results following the surgical removal of nonage-related subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes. Methods A retrospective study was carried out of 31 consecutive patients undergoing vitrectomy, parafoveal retinotomy and removal of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes that were either idiopathic or associated with multifocal choroiditis, high myopia, trauma or angioid streaks. Results Visual acuity improved or remained the same in 25 eyes (81%) after a mean follow-up of 10.1 months (range 3-37 months). Visual acuity improved by more than 2 lines of Snellen acuity in 5 eyes (16%) and decreased by more than 2 lines in 2 eyes (6%). There was no significant association between the final visual outcome and length of symptoms prior to surgery or pre-operative visual acuity. Atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and older age were associated with poor outcome. Membranes recurred in 11 eyes (35%), and eyes with subfoveal blood prior to surgery were more likely to have recurrent membranes. Conclusions The results of surgical removal of non-age-related subfoveal neovascular membranes have been encouraging, but further studies of long-term outcome and of the natural history of individual conditions are required.