CHOROIDAL VOLUME IN BRANCH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION BEFORE AND AFTER INTRAVITREAL ANTI-VEGF INJECTION

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the subfoveal choroidal volume change in the patients with branch retinal vein occlusion before and after intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection using the enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Methods: We measured the bilateral subfoveal choroidal volume in 15 patients (mean age, 64.47 +/- 7.13 years) with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion by using the enhanced depth imaging methods of the Spectralis optical coherence tomography system. After an injection of intravitreal bevacizumab, we measured the subfoveal choroidal volume of the eye with regressed macular edema. Results: The mean subfoveal choroidal volume measured in 15 eligible eyes of 15 patients was 7.74 +/- 0.70 mm(3), which was significantly greater than the volume of the fellow eyes (6.38 +/- 0.69 mm(3); P = 0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The subfoveal choroidal volume of the eye with regressed macular edema was 6.56 +/- 0.79 mm(3), which was significantly lower than the volume before the treatment (P = 0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Conclusion: The subfoveal choroidal volume of the branch retinal vein occlusion eyes was significantly greater than the volume of the fellow eyes and decreased significantly after an intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment.