Faculty Bibliography

This is a rare, multimodal imaging report spanning a decade of monitoring in a patient with chronic solar retinopathy showing the natural course of the disease. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) showed mild widening of subfoveal loss of ellipsoid and interdigitation zones bilaterally, progressive retinal pigment epithelial thinning in the right eye, and hyperplasia in the left eye. Structural en face OCT showed subfoveal tissue loss bilaterally. There was no leakage on fluorescein angiography and OCT angiography (OCTA), and dense B-scan OCTA images were unremarkable. Microperimetry revealed bilateral decreased central sensitivity and eccentric fixation in the left eye. Vision remained stable throughout. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2019;50:388-392.].

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To introduce a simple method for differentiating retinal veins from arteries on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). DESIGN/METHODS:Cross-sectional pilot study. METHODS:Four default en face slabs including color depth encoded, greyscale full-thickness retina, superficial plexus, and deep capillary plexus (DCP) from 9 3x3 mm and 9 6x6 mm OCTA scans were exported and aligned. Nine ophthalmologists with minimum OCTA experience from 2 eye institutions were instructed to classify labeled vessels as arteries or veins in 3 stages. Classification was performed based on graders' own assessment at Stage 1. Graders were taught that a capillary-free zone was an anatomic feature of arteries at Stage 2 and were trained to identify veins originating from vortices within the DCP at Stage 3. Grading accuracy was analyzed and correlated with grading time and graders' years in practice. RESULTS:Overall grading accuracy in Stages 1, 2, and 3 was (50.4 ± 17.0) %, (75.4 ± 6.0) %, and (94.7 ± 2.6) %, respectively. Grading accuracy for 3x3 mm scans in Stages 1, 2, and 3 was (49.9 ± 16.3) %, (79.2 ± 9.6) %, and (96.9 ± 3.1) %, respectively. Accuracy for 6x6 mm scans in Stages 1, 2, and 3 was (51.4 ± 20.8) %, (72.3 ± 7.9) %, and (93.2 ± 3.3) %, respectively. Grading performance improved significantly at each stage (all P < .001). No significant correlation was found between accuracy and time spent grading or between accuracy and years in practice (r = -0.164 - 0.617, all P ≥ 0.077). CONCLUSIONS:We describe a simple method for accurately distinguishing retinal arteries from veins on OCTA which incorporates the use vortices in the DCP to identify venous origin.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the vascular structure within combined hamartoma of retina and retinal pigment epithelium (CHRRPE) lesions using OCT angiography (OCTA). DESIGN/METHODS:Multicenter, retrospective, observational analysis, PARTICIPANTS: Twenty eyes of patients diagnosed with CHRRPE. METHODS:Retrospective analysis of color fundus photographs, OCT, and OCTA of 20 eyes with CHRRPE. Morphologic characteristics of CHRRPE and the OCT features were correlated with the density of the filigree vascular pattern and with the published histopathologic findings of CHRRPE lesions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE/METHODS:Density of flow signals, that is, the filigree vascular pattern seen on OCTA in the deep capillary plexus, graded as high (>20), intermediate (10-20), or low (<10). RESULTS:Of 20 lesions, 11 were peripapillary, 8 were macular, and 1 was equatorial in location. A high density of filigree vascular pattern was observed in most peripapillary CHRRPE lesions, which also showed full-thickness retinal involvement (8/10). A low density of filigree pattern was seen in macular lesions, which showed partial-thickness retinal involvement and preretinal fibrosis (5/6). CONCLUSIONS:A filigree vascular pattern on OCTA is seen in CHRRPE lesions. High density of this pattern is noted in CHRRPE lesions with a peripapillary location, full-thickness retinal disorganization, and minimal preretinal fibrosis. These findings correlate well with published histopathologic findings of CHRRPE lesions both in terms of topographic and morphologic features. OCT angiography provides a promising method for further study of these lesions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE/OBJECTIVE:To describe the multimodal imaging characteristics associated with punctate outer retinal toxoplasmosis (PORT). PATIENTS AND METHODS/METHODS:Multicenter, retrospective, observational case series of three patients who presented with PORT. Multimodal imaging was reviewed including optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography angiography, and conventional dye-based angiography. RESULTS:Patient ages ranged from 13 years to 55 years. Each patient had multiple white, punctate outer retinal lesions in the affected eye at initial diagnosis. OCT showed both inner and outer retinal changes, including disruption of the ellipsoid and interdigitation zones and retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch's membrane complex, as well as punctate, preretinal, hyperreflective lesions at the vitreoretinal interface, which regressed with treatment. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Multimodal imaging is useful in diagnosing and monitoring treatment response in PORT, an uncommon presentation of ocular toxoplasmosis that must be differentiated from white dot syndromes or other causes of unilateral retinitis. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2019;50:281-287.].

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To correlate multimodal retinal imaging with high-resolution epoxy resin histologic analysis aligned to in vivo tomograms in a patient with exudative aneurysmal type 1 (AT1) neovascularization and hemorrhage secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN/METHODS:Case study and clinicopathologic correlation. PARTICIPANT/METHODS:An 84-year-old man of European descent with AT1 neovascularization secondary to AMD with a 6-year follow-up with combined antiangiogenic and photodynamic therapy. METHODS:Multimodal imaging from each clinic visit, including fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and OCT, was correlated with ex vivo OCT and high-resolution histologic images of the donor eye, aligned to the en face images showing hemorrhage and exudation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:Location of the branching vascular network and the aneurysmal vascular dilations in angiography, correlated with histologic findings. RESULTS:Clinically, a hemorrhagic detachment of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the macular area was associated with an AT1 neovascularization extending near the optic nerve head, where the choroid, which was thin overall, was extremely thin. Resolution of the hemorrhage accompanied by progressive macular atrophy and internal changes in the reflectivity of the RPE detachment were observed. Histologic analysis suggested a physical continuity from a hyalinized choroidal artery to a capillary bed (branching vascular network) in the sub-RPE-basal lamina (BL) space without visualization of aneurysmal dilations. CONCLUSIONS:Clinicopathologic correlation of AT1 neovascularization from an intact treated eye with dye-based angiographic and OCT scans supports the proposed nomenclature of AT1 neovascularization over polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. We described continuity of the sub-RPE-BL branching vascular network with choroidal arteries and histologic correlates of common OCT signatures of neovascular AMD. The thinness of choroid in this patient of European descent contrasts with that reported for Asian populations, in which AT1 neovascularization is associated commonly with pachychoroid disease characteristics. This case reinforces the different manifestations of AT1 neovascularization across and within diverse ethnicities and diseases.

The authors report a case of nonconforming focal choroidal excavation (FCE) identified in an eye following blunt, nonperforating trauma to the globe. Multimodal imaging was undertaken including color fundus photographs, enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and fundus autofluorescence. This shows that FCE may result from blunt ocular trauma. The authors hypothesize that loss of structural support provided by an intact Bruch's membrane may be a key factor in precipitating the specific morphological changes associated with FCE occurring in a range of clinical settings. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2019;50:187-190.].