Optical coherence tomography of chronic solar retinopathy

To describe the optical coherence tomographic findings in eight eyes of four patients with chronic solar retinopathy. All patients had a history of sun gazing months to years prior to presentation.

Retrospective case series.

Patients were examined using biomicroscopy performed by two or more experienced vitreoretinal specialists. All eight eyes had optical coherence tomography performed at the time of initial examination.

All patients had a history of sun gazing and decreased vision in both eyes. On biomicroscopy, all eyes had a small, irregularly-shaped lamellar defect in the foveal center. No posterior vitreous detachment was present in any eye. Optical coherence tomography revealed a hyporeflective space at the level of the outer neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium in all eyes.

Optical coherence tomography demonstrates a characteristic hyporeflective space in the outer retina in patients with chronic solar retinopathy. These findings correlate with the histopathology of this condition and may be a useful clinical tool in confirming its diagnosis.