Patients with PCV need to be followed for long periods of time after PDT because of the high incidence of polypoidal lesion recurrence. However, since polypoidal lesions often recur outside the fovea, and thus have little effect on VA, PDT can be expected to exert long-term efficacy in treating PCV.

PDT with verteporfin for PCV appears to improve or maintain VA for the first posttreatment year. Approximately 70% of PCV cases showed improved ophthalmoscopic findings. However, as polypoidal lesions recur after PDT in some cases, further study is needed to confirm the long-term efficacy of PDT for PCV.

Long-term visual outcomes were not good owing to the high frequency of recurrent polypoidal lesions, as well as enlargement and neovascular changes involving abnormal vascular networks.

In DME, vitreous VEGF concentration correlates with mean foveal thickness measured on OCT. VEGF concentration was higher in premacular vitreous than in mid-vitreous and peripheral cortical vitreous, suggesting diffusion from the macular region to the periphery, and from the posterior to the anterior globe.