EVALUATION OF PERSISTENCE OF SUBRETINAL NEOVASCULAR MEMBRANES USING DIGITIZED ANGIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

A study was conducted using the digitized fluorescein angiogram (DFA) system to evaluate adequacy of coverage of laser treatment for subreti nal neovascular membranes (SRNVM) and to confirm that complete coverag e lowers the incidence of persistent SRNVMs. Ten consecutive cases wer e evaluated with the DFA system after undergoing a single laser treatm ent. Three cases were judged to be adequately treated, and the remaini ng seven cases were judged to be inadequately treated. The DFA system was then used during photocoagulation in 16 consecutive cases to verif y complete coverage of the SRNVM or to indicate the need for photocoag ulation augmentation. Despite augmentation, 2 of the 16 cases remained inadequately treated. Overall, the cases that were adequately treated had a 12% (2/17) persistence rate, whereas those that were inadequate ly treated had a persistence rate of 67% (6/9). The data indicate that adequate coverage of SRN-VMs is essential to prevent persistence.