Quantitative Analysis of Diabetic Macular Edema after Laser Photocoagulation.

Kim, Hyung Chan; Boo, Hee Don; Youn, Seoung Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2001;42(10):1401-1407.
Published online October 1, 2001.

Quantitative Analysis of Diabetic Macular Edema after Laser Photocoagulation.

Hyung Chan Kim, Hee Don Boo, Seoung Ho Youn

Department of Ophthalmology, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital.

당뇨황반부종의 국소레이저치료 후 망막두께변화의 정량화

부희돈(Hee Don Boo),윤승호(Seoung Ho Youn),김형찬(Hyung Chan Kim)

Abstract

PURPOSE
Diabetic macular edema is one of major causes leading to visual loss and it is difficult to be quantified. We investigated a volumetric quantification of retinal thickness change before and after focal laser photocoagulation with Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT). METHODS: Ten patients who were diagnosed as diabetic retinopathy with clinically significant macular edema (CSME) in only one eye and treated with focal laser photocoagulation were studied. The opposite eyes which had no CSME were studied as control group. In the eyes which had CSME, the volume above reference plane (VARP) bounded by three consecutive circle centered at the fovea (diameter 1, 2, and 3 mm) were measured. The retinal thickness of control group was also measured with the same method. We performed focal laser photocoagulation for the eyes which had CSME and measured VARP at 1, 2, and 3 months after laser treatment. RESULTS: Three months after laser treatment, the VARP of treated eyes measured in each diameter was significantly decreased, however, there was no significant difference in control group. There was no significant difference in visual acuity change between before and 3 months after laser treatment. CONCLUSION: From the above results, we concluded that HRT could be used to quantify the change of diabetic macular edema before and after laser treatment.

Key Words: Diabetic macular edema;Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT);Focal laser photocoagula-tion;Visual acuity, VARP (volume above reference plane)