Implications of the anatomical classification of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To present the clinical relevance of the anatomical classification of the neovascular form of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

METHODS: Critical analysis of the current situation in the management of patients with neovascular AMD, by reviewing the available scientific evidence with regards to the classification of the types of neovascular lesion by angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

RESULTS: The classification of the neovascular lesion type secondary to AMD by OCT in type 1 lesions (under the pigment epithelium), type 2 (subretinal), and type 3 (retinal angiomatous proliferation), provides an added value in allowing to establish a long-term visual prognosis, an estimate of the number of treatments that a certain case may require, and a stratification of the risk for secondary geographic atrophy.

CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating OCT to the initial qualitative analysis of cases with neovascular AMD offers an added value superior to that provided by the angiography, with the relevant clinical implications.