En-face optical coherence tomography angiography of neovascularization elsewhere in hemicentral retinal vein occlusion

Purpose: To evaluate how the growth of neovascularization elsewhere (NVE) was delineated in an eye with hemicentral retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. Patients and methods: We examined a 64-year-old man diagnosed with hemi-CRVO. The area around the occluded vein was scanned using a spectral-domain OCT device (RTVue XR Avanti). Blood flow was detected using the split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (SSADA) algorithm. Color fundus photography, fluorescein angiography (FA), and OCT angiography examinations were performed at the first visit and at 3 and 6 months postpresentation. Results: At the first visit, FA revealed delayed retinal venous filling and extensive areas of capillary nonperfusion. The patient underwent a trial of intravitreal ranibizumab injection (0.5 mg/0.05 mL) for the treatment of macular edema. At 3 months postpresentation, there was no NVE around the occluded vein in the en-face SSADA image, but at 6 months, NVE appeared on the occluded veins. The en-face SSADA image showed the NVE structure in the fibrovascular membrane on the occluded vein more clearly than FA images. Conclusion: OCT angiography clearly visualized the sprouting of NVE in an eye with hemiCRVO. New findings of the vascular structure of NVE in hemi-CRVO were revealed using the en-face SSADA algorithm.