Purpose: Little is known about the choroidal circulation in human eyes with ocular hypotony. Recently, indocyanine green angiography (IA) became a useful method for examining choroidal circulation. The present study using IA was designed to determine choroidal circulatory disturbances in patients with traumatic hypotony maculopathy.
Methods: Indocyanine green angiography was performed on 3 consecutive patients (3 eyes) with traumatic hypotony. One patient underwent IA using an infrared fundus camera only during the hypotony stage. The other 2 patients underwent IA using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope before and after recovery of intraocular pressure (IOP).
Results: During the hypotony stage, IA revealed multiple hypofluorescent spots in many parts of the fundus, sector hypofluorescent areas, dilatation, and tortuosity of the choroidal vessels in the posterior pole. These findings had not been detected by fluorescein angiography. After surgical treatment, IOP returned to the normal range and visual acuity improved. Indocyanine green angiography showed improvement of the sector hypofluorescent areas, and dilatation and tortuosity of choroidal vessels in the posterior pole. However, most of the hypofluorescent spots and regional delay of choroidal filling remained.
Conclusions: Indocyanine green angiography revealed that choroidal circulatory disturbances occurred during the hypotony stage and that some remained during the recovery stage.