Pars plana vitrectomy in chronic myelogenous leukemia with vitreous hemorrhage

Pars plana vitrectomy operations were performed on two cases of vitreous hemorrhage due to chronic myelogenous leukemia. Fundus examination and fluorescein angiography revealed optic disc neovascularization in both, which is a rare fundus finding in chronic leukemias. The first case seen with vitreous hemorrhage in both eyes also had diabetes mellitus with a negative family history, and had received laser therapy on his right eye. His chronic myelogenous leukemia was diagnosed 4 months after vitrectomy was performed on this eye, when he presented with widespread subcutaneous hemorrhages. The second case showed a nonproliferative retinopathy with old laser scars in his right eye and vitreous hemorrhage in his left eye, and had no diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia was made before the vitrectomy operation when the physical examination revealed splenomegaly. The pathogenesis of retinal and optic disc neovascularization in myeloproliferative diseases, its possible relation with chemotherapy, and the results of the vitrectomy operations were discussed with special emphasis on the importance of ruling out chronic leukemias and other blood dyscrasias in vitreal hemorrhages, retinopathies of unknown origin, and even in diabetic retinopathies with a negative family history.