DOUBLE FLUENCE PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CIRCUMSCRIBED CHOROIDAL HEMANGIOMA

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of double-fluence photodynamic therapy for the treatment of circumscribed choroidal hemangioma. Methods: Retrospective observational study including patients affected by circumscribed choroidal hemangioma and treated with double-fluence photodynamic therapy. The photodynamic therapy was performed with verteporfin infusion intravenously (dose of 6 mg/m(2) body surface area over 10 minutes), followed by the application of two consecutive spots of 50 J/cm(2) light at 689 nm for 83 seconds. Results: Twenty-three eyes of 23 patients were included. The mean best-corrected visual acuity increased from 20/45 to 20/28, the mean tumor thickness decreased from 2,758 +/- 530 mu m to 722 +/- 314 mu m (P < 0.05), and the mean central retinal thickness decreased from 404 +/- 209 mu m to 188 +/- 56 mu m (P < 0.05) in 12 months, respectively. A total reabsorption of macular subretinal fluid, cystoid macular edema, and SRF associated with the tumor was obtained within 6 months in all cases, with persistence of tumor-associated intraretinal fluid up to 12 months only in two patients. No cases of side effects or need for retreatment were reported during the follow-up (average time of 25 months). Conclusion: Double-fluence photodynamic therapy is a safe and effective treatment for circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas and should be considered as the first line of treatment for these lesions.