Translocation of the macula for management of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization: Comparison of results in age-related macular degeneration and degenerative myopia

PURPOSE: To report the results of limited macular translocation in subfoveal choroidal neovascularization resulting from age-related macular degeneration or degenerative myopia. METHODS: The first consecutive 32 patients (23 age-related macular degeneration eyes and nine myopic eyes) were operated on with the limited macular translocation technique described by de Juan. Before and after surgery, a complete examination included fluorescein and indocyanine-green angiographies and optical coherence tomography. Mean follow-up was 9 months in the age-related macular degeneration group (range, 6 to 14 months) and 10 months in the myopic group (range, 6 to 15 months). RESULTS: The improvement in visual acuity was better in the myopic group than in the age-related macular degeneration group and was correlated with younger age in the myopic group (P < .05) At the end of follow-up, visual acuity improved by 2 lines or more in seven age-related macular degeneration eyes (30%), including four eyes (13%) with an improvement of 6 lines or more, and in six myopic eyes (67%), including two eyes (22%) with an improvement of 6 lines or more. Final visual acuity was unchanged in four age-related macular degeneration eyes (17%) and three myopic eyes (33%), and decreased in 12 age-related macular degeneration eyes (52%). Conversely, the mean foveal displacement was greater in age-related macular degeneration than in myopia (1,105 <mu>m and 685 mum, respectively; P < .05), Main complications were retinal detachment (six eyes), neovascularization at the injection site (two eyes), and recurrence of neovascularization (43% of the age-related macular degeneration group and 11% of the myopic group). CONCLUSIONS: Limited macular translocation allowed a significant improvement in visual acuity in same eyes with subfoveal neovascularization and resulted in a moderate rate of complications. Longer follow-up and additional studies are required to confirm these findings. (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.