Choroidal features on widefield optical coherence tomography angiography in eyes with circumscribed choroidal hemangioma.

Objective: To evaluate choroidal morphologic and vascular findings in eyes with circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (CCH) in a 21 mm × 26 mm widefield (WF) OCT-Angiography (OCTA; VG200D: Intalight Inc., San Jose, CA).

Methods: Consecutive patients with CCH were included in this prospective, observational study at the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Imaging consisted of ultrasonography and WF-OCTA. Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and choroidal thickness (CT) were assessed in study eyes (SE) and fellow eyes (FE) using the software of the device. Measurement of CT and CVI excluded the area of CCH and an equivalent area of FE.

Results: Nineteen patients (female: n = 9 (47.4%), mean age: 61 ± 11 years) were included in the study. In ultrasonography, the mean largest basal diameter and thickness were 7.32 ± 2.12 mm and 2.81 ± 0.75 mm, respectively. CT was statistically significantly higher in SE, as compared to FE (294.6 ± 74.2 µm vs 239.9 ± 46.8 µm; paired t test p < 0.001), while CVI was statistically significantly lower in SE, as compared to FE (0.44 ± 0.05 vs 0.45 ± 0.05; paired t test: p = 0.012). Intraretinal or subretinal fluid had no statistically significant influence on CT (with fluid: 303.0 ± 84.3 µm vs without fluid: 285.3 ± 65.0 µm; t test: p = 0.619) and CVI (with fluid: 0.42 ± 0.05 vs without fluid: 0.45 ± 0.03; t test: p = 0.185).

Conclusions: Intraretinal or subretinal fluid had no impact on CT and CVI of SE. CT is higher and CVI is lower in SE as compared to FE, when excluding the area of CCH in SE and an equivalent area in FE. This suggests that the choroid plays a crucial role in the disease mechanism of CCH.