ABSTRACT
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in individuals over 50 years of age in North America and Europe. 1 For many years, thermal laser photocoagulation was the sole treatment available for patients with wet ARMD. In 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin (Visudyne, Novartis) for treatment of predominantly classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV); 2 years later, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) agreed to cover PDT for occult and minimally classic CNV as well. However, the location, type, and size of CNV were prominent factors in the selection of treatment methods, and available modalities benefited only a small percentage of patients.
