Tomographic and angiographic characteristics of eyes with macular focal choroidal excavation.

PURPOSE: To describe detailed clinical features of eyes with focal choroidal excavation.

METHODS

Twenty-one eyes of 17 patients with focal choroidal excavation were retrospectively studied. All eyes underwent thorough examination including funduscopy, visual field analysis, fundus autofluorescence imaging, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and B-scan ultrasonography.

RESULTS

Patients' age ranged between 25 years and 70 years. Four patients (24%) were affected bilaterally. Spherical equivalent of refractive error ranged from 0.5 diopters to -10.0 diopters (D). Funduscopic examination showed hypopigmentation (n = 12) and yellowish plaquelike appearances (n = 2). Indocyanine green angiography showed not only filling defects at the excavation (n = 16) but also choroidal vascular hyperpermeability (n = 7) and punctate hyperfluorescent spots (n = 7). Cicatrized subretinal neovascularization was seen in three eyes. The mean follow-up period was 37 months (6-66 months). There was no change in the appearance of excavation. Central serous chorioretinopathy (n = 1) and choroidal neovascularization (n = 1) developed during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Background factors and ophthalmic findings are similar to those that have been reported previously, including relatively stable findings even after a long observation and the occurrence of central serous chorioretinopathy and choroidal neovascularization. Bilateral cases are not rare in the current cohort, and choroidal vascular hyperpermeability is frequently observed in indocyanine green angiography, suggesting there were choroidal hemodynamic changes around the excavation.