Objective: To study the prevalence of drusen in the fellow eye of Japanese patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Participants: Seventeen eyes of 17 Japanese patients with unilateral AMD. Main outcome measures: To compare the frequency of drusen based on photography and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy with confocal and ring apertures and a diode laser (780 nm). Results: Using the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) with a ring aperture, drusen were detected clearly as in topographic imaging. In the fellow eyes of the study patients with AMD, photography showed drusen in 10 cases (58.8%); however, SLO imaging detected drusen in 15 cases (88.2%). The number of drusen detected using SLO imaging was significantly greater than when using photography (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Scanning laser ophthalmoscope imaging is superior to photography for detecting drusen in the fellow eyes of Japanese patients with unilateral AMD. The prevalence of drusen in the fellow eye of Japanese patients with AMD is much higher than previously speculated.
