Long-term follow-up of central serous chorioretinopathy.

The Wilmer Retinal Vascular Center's experience with central serous chorioretinopathy from 1970 to the end of 1979 was reviewed and compared with previous studies. Retrospective analysis of 73 patients seen at follow-up suggests no clinically significant effect of focal argon laser photocoagulation on final visual acuity or recurrence rate. Patients with initial visual acuity of 20/20 remained at that level, and patients with initial visual acuity of less than 20/30 gained, on average, two to three Snellen lines at follow-up. Approximately one-third of both untreated and treated patients had recurrence or presumed persistence during the follow-up period. With the inclusion of episodes that occurred before the first Wilmer Institute visit about half of each group had recurrence or presumed persistence. Recurrences were most often due to leakage from a site within one disc diameter of the original site of leakage.