Purpose: To evaluate the 1-year results of intravitreal aflibercept injections for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy based on indocyanine green angiography findings.
Methods: Twenty-nine eyes with treatment-naive polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy treated with intravitreal aflibercept injections and followed longer than 1 year were retrospectively reviewed. The best-corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography findings, and polypoidal lesions in indocyanine green angiography were evaluated.
Results: The mean number of injections through 1 year was 3.9 ± 1.9 (range: 1-8). Fourteen eyes (48%) were received no additional injections because of no recurrence of exudative change after the first loading dose. The mean best-corrected visual acuity levels at 6 months and 1 year significantly improved, and the mean central retinal thickness significantly decreased at all observation points from the baseline. At 3 months, the polypoidal lesions completely resolved in 19 (66%) eyes. At 1 year, the complete resolution of polypoidal lesions was seen in 4 of 10 eyes with persistent polypoidal lesions at 3 months. However, polypoidal lesions recurred at 1 year in 5 of 19 eyes (26%) with complete resolution of polypoidal lesions at 3 months.
Conclusion: Aflibercept is effective for the eyes with treatment-naive polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy to achieve the resolution of polypoidal lesions. The authors need to carefully observe the eyes after confirming complete resolution of polypoidal lesion because of recurrent polyps seen in one-quarter of the study eyes.