Can macular translocation be a satisfactory management of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane?

Abstract

Árpád Bereczki1, Zsolt Bíró21“Petz Aladár” County Teaching Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Gyor, Hungary; 2St Imre Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Budapest, HungaryPurpose: To report histopathological observations regarding one of our macular translocation cases.Methods: We have performed macular translocation with 360 degree retinotomy since 1997, and limited macular translocation with or without subretinal membrane removal since 2002. One of our patients died on the fifth postoperative day, so extensive histological examination of the removed neovascular membrane and entire globe was performed.Results: We found that pigment epithelium remained attached to the neurosensory retina during retinal separation, in which case the rotated fovea will be relocated in a partially devoided pigment epithelial zone. In addition, even after complete surgical removal of the membrane during macular translocation, large membrane remnants are still detectable by histological examination.Conclusion: In our opinion, macular translocation is not a satisfactory management of subfoveal neovascular membranes, because of changes in the pigment epithelium during surgery, and large subretinal neovascular membrane remnants.Keywords: age-related macular degeneration (AMD), choroidal neovascularization (CNV), choroidal subretinal membrane, macular translocation, histology