[Age related macular degeneration surgery].

Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a disease in which the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is damaged in the central retinal area. In the exudative form, the vision loss is due to choroidal neovascularization, while in the nonexudative or atrophic form, there is a vision loss because of the retinal pigment epithelium atrophy. Treatment which proved to be efficient in lowering the risk of severe vision loss in the exudative form includes laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, transpupilary thermotherapy and as surgical treatment, the controversial subretinal membrane extraction. In all these situations the RPE is damaged by the disease itself and by the therapeutic procedure too. Retinal translocation is a surgical procedure that intends to remove the neurosensory retina from an area with damaged RPE to an healthy RPE area, through a 360 degrees retinotomy or through a limited one. This paper present some ARMD cases treated by subretinal membrane extraction and one by limited retinal translocation. The question which is still remaining is which are the risks and benefits for the following treatment procedures: laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, transpupilary thermotherapy and surgical approach?