Optical coherence tomography angiography findings before and after onset of foveal retinal neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE

To report a rare case of foveal retinal neovascularization (RNV) in a patient with diabetic retinopathy in whom the retinal microcirculation structure before and after the onset of the disease was evaluated using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

OBSERVATIONS

A 54-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus was referred to our department for fundus evaluation, and was diagnosed with cataract and severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy in the left eye. Two years after we performed cataract surgery and pan-retinal photocoagulation in the left eye, OCTA detected a previously unidentified foveal RNV arising from the perifoveal capillary network. The vitreous retinal interface slab of OCTA and cross-sectional OCT images confirmed that this foveal RNV was an aberrant vessel invading the vitreous cavity.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE

The findings in this case indicate that foveal RNV in diabetic retinopathy is derived from vessels outside the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), and OCTA is a useful examination for the diagnostic investigation of foveal RNV.