Central serous chorioretinopathy is an eye disease which primarily affects middle-aged people. It involves the collection of fluid under the retina. If this does not revert spontaneously, visual disturbances occur. The illness will then require treatment.
Vision with advanced stage CSCR
Vision with early stage CSCR
Vision with a healthy eye
No specific cause is known. In addition, stress and, under certain circumstances, treatments with cortisone are typical triggers. Men aged between 20 and 50 are the most commonly affected.
In central serous chorioretinopathy, a leak appears in Bruch’s membrane, the layer separating the retina and the choroid. Fluid from the choroid flows through this into the retina and causes it to swell. This leads to insufficient supply to the nerve cells. The cells can then die, therefore causing vision problems.
A distinction is made between acute and chronic forms of central serous chorioretinopathy.
Acute form of progression
It is primarily young men who are affected by the acute form. In these patients, changes go back easily. This happens within a few weeks or months. Vision is slightly impaired. Visual disturbances are temporary, except in rare cases. Repeat flare-ups may occur, however.
Chronic form
If the illness does not go away spontaneously, it is known as chronic CSCR. It keeps coming back. Loss of sight is a rare outcome. However, lasting visual impairment can occur in severe cases.
In general, the progression of central serous chorioretinopathy is painless. Initially, glare effects occur as typical symptoms. They usually only affect one eye, but do not subside. These are accompanied later by distortions in the middle of the field of view. Depending on the location and size of the swelling, there may also be spots or rings. These become particularly pronounced when working in semi-darkness or when squinting. In very advanced stages, low-contrast or even gray areas can arise. The disease normally heals within a few weeks. If not, treatment measures must be taken.
Firstly, your ophthalmologist will examine the retina with the slit lamp. He may find swelling of the macula. An angiography is then performed to investigate its origin. For this purpose, a dye is injected into a vein in the arm. This helps to find the leakage source in the choroidal tissue. "Optical coherence tomography" (OCT) is also often recommended. It allows the individual layers of the retina to be depicted. This improves check-ups over the course of treatment.
OCT cross section
OCT
Fluorescein angiography
Slit lamp
The course of treatment for CSCR with the Navilas® system
In many cases, the disease heals by itself after a month. Several factors must be taken into account with self-healing. These include abstinence from smoking and avoiding medications containing cortisone. Reducing stress can also help. If no improvement occurs after a few weeks, treatment may be considered.
“With navigated laser therapy, coagulation of the leakage points can be well planned, and that coagulation can be precisely treated afterwards. The precision is far superior to the conventional laser, and the subthreshold energy allows the prevention of laser-induced side effects.”
English brochure, PDF
