Proliferative retinopathy and toxemia of pregnancy

Retinopathy occurring during toxemia of pregnancy generally shows the features of hypertensive retinopathy. The authors describe the case of a patient with bilateral peripheral neovascularizations following toxemia of pregnancy. The likely pathogenesis is ascribed to the development of ischemic areas, which can be determined by microthrombus formation. Presently, low-grade disseminated intravascular coagulation is considered very important in the pathogenesis of toxemia of pregnancy. After panretinal fluorangiography, a selective photocoagulation of ischemic areas was performed. The regression of neovascularizations was observed after one month. No similar case report could be found in the literature.