photodynamic therapy for vasoproliferative tumors and capillary hemangiomas of the retina

purpose: to evaluate the results of verteporfin photodynamic therapy (pdt) in vasoproliferative tumors (vpt) of the retina and retinal capillary hemangiomas (rch). methods: in a retrospective case series, 6 tumors in 5 eyes with vpt, and 3 rch in 3 eyes underwent pdt which was performed using intravenous verteporfin. eyes were evaluated for tumor regression, final best-corrected visual acuity (bcva), and final retinal status. results: patients were followed for a mean period of 7.1±3.9 months. mean number of pdt sessions for each tumor was 1.33 (range 1-2). overall, mean bcva improved from 1.7±1.06 to 0.88±0.8 logmar (p=0.017). tumor thickness decreased from 3.53±0.83 to 1.73±0.73 mm (p<0.001). subgroup analysis revealed improvement in bcva and tumor thickness in the vpt group (p=0.04). however, in the rch group, there was no statistically significant improvement in bcva (p=0.43) despite significant reduction in tumor thickness (p=0.024). a favorable outcome characterized by improved or unchanged visual acuity was achieved and the tumor regressed in all eyes. subretinal fluid was absorbed in all eyes except for one eye with preoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy.  conclusion: vasoproliferative tumors and retinal capillary hemangiomas can be treated effectively by verteporfin pdt and a favorable outcome can be expected.