Acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) may resolve spontaneously, but risks progression to chronic disease with visual impairment. We performed a PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis evaluating photodynamic therapy (PDT) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents versus observation in acute CSC (<6 months), searching PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL (October 2014 - May 2025) for comparative studies. Eleven studies (5 randomized, 6 non-randomized; 464 eyes) were included. PDT demonstrated robust superiority over observation, achieving significant best-corrected visual acuity gains and sustained central macular thickness reductions at 1, 3, and 12 months. Notably, PDT-treated eyes were nearly 4 times more likely to achieve complete fluid resolution at one month, a benefit maintained across all follow-up intervals. Conversely, anti-VEGF therapy provided only a transient anatomical reduction at one month, without significant visual improvement or sustained benefit. Both interventions were well tolerated. In conclusion, half-dose PDT provides durable anatomical and functional improvements for acute CSC, significantly accelerating fluid resolution and visual recovery. While observation remains a valid initial approach, early PDT is practically advantageous for patients requiring rapid visual rehabilitation or to mitigate permanent photoreceptor damage from persistent fluid. Anti-VEGF therapy offers limited, transient anatomical effects without functional benefit and should be reserved for atypical cases or when PDT is unavailable.

The Miyake-Apple technique for retrolenticular video analysis has proven itself to be a valued tool in research and education for anterior segment surgery, intraocular lens (IOL) design, implantation techniques and evaluating surgical complications. Such a knowledge base could also be incorporated into surgical simulators which are generally more readily available to training ophthalmologists. We identified 139 papers in the initial search. After screening 100 papers, 94 were included in the review. In all 94 studies, the employment of the Miyake-Apple technique for visualization was used for post-mortem eye analysis, yielding information about its role in (1) teaching and training, (2), understanding the effects of IOL implantation, (3), visualizing the impacts of experimental surgical techniques on the eye, and (4), its modern technical advancements to facilitate Miyake-Apple views with lower-resource endoscopic equipment. Our findings support the conclusion that the Miyake-Apple system can play an imperative role in the training and testing of ophthalmic surgeons, devices and surgical techniques. This technology has the potential to aid in the development of newer IOL explantation and replacement techniques as well as IOL fixation techniques. With advancing technology and innovative endoscopic posterior viewing techniques, barriers have lowered for adopting the Miyake-Apple system in ophthalmic surgical training globally.