Aim: To observe the choroidal microstructure in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) using high-penetration optical coherence tomography (HP-OCT) with a long-wavelength light source that visualises tissue beneath the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and deep choroid, and to compare the findings with those of indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).
Methods: In this retrospective, non-invasive, observational case series, 19 eyes (18 patients) with PCV were observed using HP-OCT (swept source, 100 000 A-scans/s, 1060 nm wavelength) and ICGA. The HP-OCT scan protocol was a 3×3-mm or 6×6-mm square containing 256×256 or 512×128 A-scans. The choroidal thickness (CT) was measured using HP-OCT.
Results: ICGA showed 43 polypoidal lesions in 14 eyes and a vascular network in 17 eyes. HP-OCT showed 41 of the 43 polypoidal lesions visualised by ICGA as RPE rings with inner reflectivity and 15 eyes with a vascular network. Six eyes with RPE rings with inner reflectivity on HP-OCT were not visualised on ICGA images. The choroidal vascular network was dilated in 14 (33%) of 43 polypoidal lesions and 22 (47%) of 47 polypoidal lesions on ICGA and HP-OCT images, respectively. The mean CT at the fovea was 250 μm. The CT at the dilated choroidal vessels beneath the polypoidal lesions was significantly (p = 0.0095) thicker than that of the undilated choroidal vessels beneath the polypoidal lesions.
Conclusions: HP-OCT can visualise choroidal vascular abnormalities in eyes with PCV and should be useful for understanding the pathogenesis of these abnormalities.
Keywords: Imaging; Retina.
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