Intravitreal Aflibercept With vs Without Pneumatic Displacement for Submacular Hemorrhage Associated With Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy.

To compare the visual outcomes of intravitreal (IVT) aflibercept with pneumatic displacement vs without pneumatic displacement for submacular hemorrhage (SMH) associated with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). This retrospective study assessed patients with SMH associated with PCV who were treated with aflibercept and pneumatic displacement with gas (aflibercept+gas group) or with aflibercept alone (monotherapy group). Patients were followed for at least 12 months, with the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 12 months the primary outcome measure. Forty-seven eyes of 47 patients were retrospectively analyzed from August 2013 to March 2023. The aflibercept+gas group comprised 25 eyes and the monotherapy group, 22 eyes. The 2 groups had comparable baseline characteristics. The mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before treatment was 0.78 ± 0.46 in the aflibercept+gas group and 0.83 ± 0.66 in the monotherapy group ( = .76). The mean BCVA (0.26 ± 0.42 vs 0.85 ± 0.57) and the mean change in (-0.52 ± 0.55 vs 0.02 ± 0.75) 12 months postoperatively was significantly better in the aflibercept+gas group than in the monotherapy group ( < .001 and < .008, respectively). The BCVA improved by 3 or more lines in 60.0% of eyes in the aflibercept+gas group but in only 18.2% of eyes in the monotherapy group. Vitreous hemorrhage developed in 16.0% of eyes in the aflibercept+gas group and in 13.6% of eyes in the monotherapy group and retinal detachment in 4.0% and 0%, respectively (both = 1.000). Better visual outcomes were achieved with IVT aflibercept and pneumatic displacement than with aflibercept alone for SMH associated with PCV.