Bilateral presumed astrocytic hamartomas in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa

Retinal astrocytic hamartomas are benign intraocular tumors classically associated with phacomatoses. Their appearance in isolation is rare. An association between astrocytic hamartomas and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) has been described previously, but controversy still exists regarding the precise nature of these lesions in RP patients. The authors present a case report of a 24-year-old male with RP and multiple bilateral lesions clinically consistent with retinal astrocytic hamartomas. Optical coherence tomography revealed multiple bilateral hyper-reflective intraretinal masses, loss of retinal architecture, intralesional calcifications, and prominent optical posterior shadowing. Comprehensive systemic evaluation was negative for phacomatoses. However, given that a biopsy was not performed, the diagnosis of optic nerve head drusen could not be excluded.