Histopathologic and Ultrastructural Features of Surgically Excised Subfoveal Choroidal Neovascular Lesions

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Abstract
Choroidal neovascular lesions have been surgically excised for more than a decade.1-3 These lesions develop in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD),3 ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS),2 and other conditions, and they may be associated with hemorrhage.1 Although the pathologic features of AMD4 and OHS5 have been well-documented, many of these studies examined choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in eyes obtained post mortem. Recent evidence6,7 has shown that CNV is a dynamic process with several stages. The initiation stage occurs when angiogenic cytokines first induce CNV development. The active stage occurs when the CNV grows to a point where there is equilibrium between angiogenic cytokines and antiangiogenic cytokines. The inactive stage occurs when antiangiogenic cytokines cause CNV regression.