Choroidal thickness in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy: Assessment of haller's and sattler's layers

Purpose To investigate the change in choroidal thickness and subanalyze the Haller's and Sattler's layers among central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) eyes, uninvolved fellow eyes, and control eyes of healthy subjects using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Methods Ocular findings and clinical features were analyzed retrospectively from medical records of the patients diagnosed with CSC from October 2014 to March 2015. The subfoveal choroidal thickness including the thickness of Haller's layer and Sattler's layer was measured using EDT-OCT in CSC eyes as well as in uninvolved fellow eyes, and compared to age, gender, and spherical equivalent-matched healthy control eyes. Results Thirty-one eyes affected by CSC and 24 uninvolved fellow eyes were included in this study. Thirty eyes from healthy subjects were recruited for control. The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness and the mean thickness of Haller's layer were significantly greater in CSC eyes compared to fellow eyes or normal control eyes, while those of fellow eyes were also significantly thicker than those of normal control eyes. The thickness of Sattler's layer showed no significant difference among the three groups. Conclusions The subfoveal choroidal thickness was increased mainly due to the increase in thickness of Haller's layer in CSC patients. It is believed that the Haller's layer was thickened by the enlarged large choroidal vessels and the action of non-vascular smooth muscle cells of choroid in response to increased sympathetic tone in CSC patients.