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9. RAP
RAP is a particular type of intraretinal neovasculari-
zation consisting of vascular anastomosis of aberrant
retinal vessels. In choroidal neovascular membranes,
new vessels proliferate through the RPE and infil-
trate the retina and eventually communicate with the
retinal circulation to produce retinochoroidal anas-
tomosis. In RAP, the neovascularization originates in
the same retinal vessels. The diagnosis is based on the
presence of hyperfluorescence corresponding to the
Table 2.
RAP Stages
1
Proliferation of intraretinal capillaries originating from the deep capillary network in the
macular area
2
3
Presence of retinal-retinal anastomosis and intraretinal edema and a possible association with
a PED and/or subretinal neovascularization
Retinal-choroidal anastomosis and emergence of new choroidal vessels
neovascularization (hot spot) in ICGA images, and the
presence of dilated retinal vessels associated with mul-
tiple intraretinal, preretinal, or subretinal hemorrhages,
with varying degrees of intraretinal edema in the fun-
dus examination. A proposed three-stage classification
is seen in Table 2.
OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
