Diagnosing and Managing Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

Evidence-based strategies for diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making.

By: Giulia Gregori, MD, Jay Chhablani, MD

Retinal Physician March 1, 2026 Vol 23, Issue March-April 2026 Page(s): 6-8

5 Key Takeaways

1

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is a distinct choroidal vascular disorder primarily affecting middle-aged Black women.
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PCV is associated with risk factors such as smoking, male sex, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and elevated inflammatory markers.
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Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) is the gold standard for diagnosing PCV, revealing branching vascular networks and polypoidal lesions.
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Recent advances in imaging have shifted diagnosis from ICGA to non-invasive methods like optical coherence tomography (OCT) with high accuracy.
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Current treatment options for PCV include photodynamic therapy, intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy, and laser photocoagulation.

Giulia Gregori, MD

Specialties: Ophthalmology

Bio: Giulia Gregori, MD, is a medical author whose work in Retinal Physician focuses on retinal disease. Her article on polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy addresses evidence-based strategies for diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making in this choroidal vascular disorder.

Jay Chhablani

Retina Specialist

Affiliations: UPMC Vision Institute

Specialties: Ophthalmology

Bio: Jay Chhablani, MD, is a retina specialist at UPMC Vision Institute and serves on the ARVO retina program committee. His clinical and scientific interests include precision medicine, retinal imaging, artificial intelligence applications in ophthalmology, geographic atrophy biomarkers, and high-resolution imaging approaches such as adaptive optics. At ARVO 2026, Dr. Chhablani highlighted emerging work integrating genetics and artificial intelligence, validation of biomarkers such as the ellipsoid zone in geographic atrophy, and laboratory models incorporating retinal pigment epithelium, Bruch’s membrane, and choroidal vessels.

PentaVision

Retinal Physician

Diagnosing and Managing Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

5 Key Takeaways

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