Central retinal artery occlusion with an irido-embolus following carotid endarterectomy

Endarterectomy is often the treatment of choice in carotid artery disease displaying significant stenosis of the internal carotid artery. This procedure is not without its complications, the most visually devastating being central retinal artery occlusion and secondary neovascularization. Such a case is presented here along with the interesting finding of a cholesterol irido-embolus, apparently the first citation in the ophthalmic literature to date.