Recurrence after surgical ablation for retinal angiomatous proliferation

PURPOSE: To report the frequency of recurrence of retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) lesions after surgical ablation. METHODS: Seven eyes of seven consecutive patients with stage II RAP underwent surgical ablation of retinal feeder and draining vessels of RAP lesions. These eyes were examined with visual acuity testing, biomicroscopic slit-lamp fundus examination, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiographies, and optical coherence tomography before and after surgery. RESULTS: Between 2 months and 13 months after surgical ablation, all 7 eyes (100%) had lesion recurrence with exudative and/or hemorrhagic manifestations such as macular edema, serous detachment of the sensory retina, or pigment epithelial detachment. Retinal feeding and draining vessels were recanalized (six eyes) or newly developed (one eye) in communication with recurrent intraretinal neovascularization. CONCLUSIONS: After surgical ablation for stage II RAP, all seven eyes had recurrence of the RAP lesions. This treatment may be ineffective for RAP. Further study of this surgical technique is necessary before recommending it for the treatment of RAP.