Optical coherence tomography of orange-red subretinal lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

PURPOSE: To study the cross-section images of orange-red lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and compare their protrusions quantitatively with those of serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment. METHODS: Optical coherent tomography images scanning remarkable orange red lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment in age-related macular degeneration or central serous chorioretinopathy were prospectively recorded. The correlation between the base diameter and the height of the lesions was analyzed. RESULTS: Optical coherence tomography images show prominent anterior protrusion of the orange-red lesions. The ratio of the height to the base diameter of the orange-red lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is 0.32 +/- 0.05, and it is significantly larger than lesions in eyes with serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment (0.18 +/- 0.05, P < .001). CONCLUSION: The orange red lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy have a more sharply peaked shape than serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment as a subretinal structure, suggesting polypoidal vascular lesions in eyes with idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy are situated beneath the Bruch membrane and covered anteriorly with both the retinal pigment epithelium and the Bruch membrane. (Am J Ophthalmol 2000;129:21-26. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.)