Fibrovascular tissue in bilateral juxtafoveal telangiectasis
D. Park, H. Schatz, H. R. McDonald and R. N. Johnson
Department of Ophthalmology, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To study the natural history and retinal findings associated
with the intraretinal and subretinal fibrovascular tissues that develop in
the late phases of bilateral juxtafoveal telangiectasis. METHODS: The
records of 10 patients (11 eyes) with bilateral juxtafoveal telangiectasis
who developed these fibrovascular tissues were examined. RESULTS:
Throughout the follow-up period (average 44 months), only 2 eyes (18%) lost
2 or more lines of vision; the final visual acuities were similar for the
eyes both with and without fibrovascular tissues. Sixty-four percent of
fibrovascular tissues showed little to no growth. Eyes with fibrovascular
tissue commonly had retinal pigment epithelial hyperplasia (72%), draining
retinal venules (82%), and retinal vascular distortion (64%). CONCLUSIONS:
Fibrovascular tissues of bilateral juxtafoveal telangiectasis have little
proliferative potential and minimal effects on visual acuity. Nevertheless,
these fibrovascular tissues do remodel over time, leading to retinal
vascular distortion. Given these benign findings, the role of laser
photocoagulation treatment of these tissues is questionable.
