Purpose: To report cases of the macular type of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy with a remote lesion.
Methods: We report six patients (seven eyes) with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy who had macular and remote lesions. These eyes were examined with angiography and tomography.
Results: All seven eyes showed an exudative macular lesion beneath the fovea. In addition, all eyes showed remote polypoidal lesions that were not connected to the macular lesions; the remote lesion was detected outside of the vascular arcade in five eyes, superotemporally beside the optic disc in one eye and on the nasal side of the optic disc in one eye. Indocyanine green angiography, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography failed to reveal any sign of a branching vascular network or choroidal neovascularization that connected the macular lesion with the more remote lesion. At the initial visit, visual acuity in the seven eyes ranged from 6/150 to 6/9 (median, 6/15). Four eyes underwent photodynamic therapy to the exudative macular lesion. During 27.6 +/- 14.3 months of follow up, no worsening was detected in any of the remote lesions. Median visual acuity was 6/60 at the final visit.
Conclusions: Some patients with macular polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy also have a remote lesion, although the remote lesion seems to have only a minor effect on visual outcome.