PHOTOCOAGULATION SCAR EXPANSION AFTER LASER THERAPY FOR CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION IN DEGENERATIVE MYOPIA

The authors performed a prospective study of 36 eyes affected by pathologic myopia with macular subretinal neovascularization (SRNV) successfully treated with either argon green, dye orange (590 nm), or krypton red lasers. Re-treated eyes were excluded. Evolution of the laser scar was carefully monitored for 12 months. Scar expansion was noted in 35 cases (97%), without a significant loss of visual acuity during the first year after treatment. The scar enlarged more conspicuously during the first 3 months after photocoagulation, with a mean increase of 103% in the first year. Expansion was not related to laser wavelength, patient age, SRNV size, or degree of myopia. Scar enlargement was greatest in the same direction as that of maximal extension of the myopic peripapillary crescent; inspection of the morphologic configuration of the peripapillary crescent before laser treatment may be helpful in evaluating the potential risk of post-laser scar expansion toward the fovea.