AIM: To evaluate outcomes after photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin in Japanese patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and compare results with the presence/absence of a retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 183 eyes with subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation secondary to AMD with more than 3 months' follow-up (range 3 to 36; mean 15.6). A serous PED developed in 44 of 183 eyes. RESULTS: A total of 124 eyes (67.8%) completed 12 months' follow-up. In 49 eyes with typical AMD, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved a mean of 0.48 line. A significant (p<0.05 to p<0.0005) decline in VA occurred in eyes with a serous PED during any 3-month period. In 75 eyes with PCV, the BCVA at 12 months improved a mean of 1.79 lines. There was no significant difference between the BCVA in 22 eyes with a PED and 53 eyes without a PED during any 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: In eyes with typical AMD, a serous PED was associated with a significant decline in BCVA compared with eyes without a serous PED. In eyes with PCV, the visual outcomes were unaffected by a serous PED. When PDT is administered, differentiating PCV from typical AMD using indocyanine green angiography is important.