Retinal hemorrhage after photodynamic therapy in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization caused by age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To report the frequency and the evolution of the extensive retinal hemorrhages that can appear within 48 h after the application of photodynamic therapy.

METHODS: Two hundred and fifteen individual eyes of 194 consecutive patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to age-related macular degeneration who underwent photodynamic treatment were included in the study. The visual acuity was measured before and after treatment. Color and red-free photographs were taken. Fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were also performed in order to describe the macular hemorrhages.

RESULTS: Four out of 215 eyes developed macular hemorrhage within 48 h after the photodynamic therapy. Before treatment one of the four patients had classic CNV, one predominantly classic and two patients occult CNV without any classic component. In all four cases, the hemorrhage after photodynamic therapy (PDT) was extensive, it extended beyond the arcades and it was not absorbed during the follow-up period, which ranged from 11 to 21 months. The greatest linear dimension of the hemorrhage was extremely high (>12,000 microm).

CONCLUSION: Extensive macular hemorrhage was observed in 1.86% of the studied cases. The hemorrhage was not related to the type of the CNV lesion before treatment. The size and the appearance of hemorrhage within 48 h after treatment support the view that the hemorrhage is a direct consequence of the photodynamic therapy and not related to the natural course of the disease.