Dye laser photocoagulation of recurrent choroidal neovascularization

PURPOSE: The high rate of recurrence of CNV after argon or Kripton laser treatment and their characteristic features suggest some theoretical benefits from the treatment with a tunable dye laser. Therefore we compared 2 groups of patients treated with kripton and dye laser to determine if the hypothesized advantages would turn into prectice. METHODS: We treated 13 eyes with recurrent CNV with sequential dye red/yellow photocoagulation and 15 patients only with kripton-red photocoagulation. The sequential treatment was performed as follow: the red wavelenght is first lightly applied near the adges of the CNV enhancing the visualization of the extend of the CNV. Next the yellow wavelenght is applied at power setting sufficient to create an intense white lesion. A minimal Follow-up of 6 months fur was chosen. RESULTS: We achieved the obliteration of CNV with red/yellow photocoagulation in less settings compared with those treated by kripton-red laser. Furthermore, the eyes treated with the sequential technique experienced less visual loss than did those treated with the kripton. CONCLUSIONS: The sequential red/yellow dye laser photocoagulation of recurrent CNV allows a better treatment both in extension and in intensity compared with the kripton red-laser.