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TTT may be useful in choroidal hemangioma treatment
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MUNICH, Germany — Transpupillary thermotherapy, or TTT, is effective in treating some choroidal hemangiomas and in preventing fluid leakage when the lesion does not involve the fovea, a small study suggests.
Researchers here studied 10 patients with choroidal hemangioma, all of whom received TTT. The mean follow-up period was just over 13 months.
According to the authors, numerous methods of treating hemangiomas present therapeutic challenges to the surgeon, among them tumor recurrence, difficulty in applying a therapy to the posterior pole and increased maculopathy and papillopathy risks.
After TTT, reduction in tumor prominence occurred in 80% of the patients at 3 months. Visual acuity improved by more than three lines in four patients and remained unchanged in the other six patients. Two patients needed retreatment to achieve complete absorption of fluid. In three patients, the hemangioma could not be treated completely because of its proximity to the fovea.
Additional follow-up is needed to evaluate long-term visual outcomes and potential risks, according to the authors. The study is published in the December issue of Clinical Investigation.