OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FINDINGS IN CHOROIDAL MELANOMA-ASSOCIATED SUBRETINAL FLUID

Purpose: To report optical coherence tomography findings of choroidal melanoma with subretinal fluid (SRF). Methods: Single-center, retrospective review of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in treatment-naive choroidal melanoma with associated SRF presenting between July 2009 and August 2021. Results: Of 236 included patients, choroidal melanoma was small (n = 98, 41.5%), medium (n = 99, 41.9%), or large (n = 39, 16.5%). The most common optical coherence tomography feature was ellipsoid zone loss/disruption (n = 174, 73.7%), with unique features of bacillary layer detachment (n = 67, 28.4%), and heterogenous (n = 72, 30.5%) or homogenous (n = 48, 20.3%) subretinal hyperreflective material. Comparison (small vs. medium vs. large) revealed greater SRF extent with increasing tumor size (SRF ≥2 quadrants: 6.1% vs. 27.2% vs. 67.7%, P < 0.001). Ellipsoid zone disruption was less common in small tumors (52.0% vs. 86.9% vs. 94.9%, P < 0.001). Bacillary layer detachment was more common in medium tumors (16.3% vs. 40.4% vs. 28.2%, P < 0.001) and, compared with eyes without bacillary layer detachment, was associated with more SRF (minimal SRF vs. SRF ≥1 quadrant: likelihood ratio 18.8, P < 0.001) and more frequent heterogenous subretinal hyperreflective material (58.2% vs. 19.5%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography features of choroidal melanoma–associated SRF vary by tumor size, with greater SRF extent in larger tumors, less ellipsoid zone disruption in small tumors, and more bacillary layer detachment in medium tumors.