Surgical excision of type 2 choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To evaluate the visual acuity outcome and the influence of various factors on visual outcome in patients undergoing surgical removal of type 2 choroidal neovascular neovascularization (CNV) caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: We studied the records of 92 patients (92 eyes) who were followed for at least 1 year after surgical excision of CNV associated with AMD.

Results: The final visual acuity was 0.4 or better in 21%, 0.1 to 0.3 in 66%, and worse than 0.1 in 13% of the patients. Final visual acuity was improved in 62%, stable in 29%, and worse in 9%. Stepwise regression identified CNV size as a significant factor influencing final visual acuity (R = 0.287, P = 0.0045).

Conclusions: Surgical excision of CNV for AMD is indicated for patients with subfoveal active type 2 CNV with a visual acuity of 0.3 or worse. To achieve better postoperative visual acuity it is important to operate on AMD patients in the early stage of CNV.