Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous with myopia: a case study

Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) is a congenital disorder that manifests a range of ocular anomalies, including leukocoria, microphthalmia, cataract, and a retrolental fibrovascular membrane. In general, the prognosis for visual acuity with PHPV has been poor. A recent report on six patients who have myopia associated with PHPV showed that these patients were not microphthalmic, did not manifest leukocoria, and showed a mean visual acuity at final followup of 20/160.

The case of a 3-year-old boy with myopic PHPV of the left eye is presented. Full-time wear of the cycloplegic refraction, combined with patching of the non-amblyopic eye, resulted in an improvement in visual acuity.

PHPV with myopia may constitute a distinct subtype of PHPV. Patients with myopic PHPV tend to seek treatment later than patients with anterior or posterior PHPV as a result of the lack of microphthalmia and leukocoria. These individuals do not show the long-term complications, such as secondary glaucoma and intraocular hemorrhages, associated with PHPV.

The acuity improvement in this case of myopic PHPV suggests that a more conservative approach to its surgical management may be appropriate while pursuing refractive correction and amblyopia therapy to attain the best acuity possible.