[Retinal macroaneurysms and macular hemorrhages: report of five cases]

Retinal macroaneurysm is an uncommon condition, found mainly in hypertensive women over age 60. We report clinical observations in five cases of complicated retinal macroaneurysms. These were all hypertensive women with a mean age of 80.2 years. All retinal macroaneurysms were located in a temporal distribution (superior branch in 80 % of cases), proximal to the third bifurcation, and presented with macular hemorrhage. 4 of the 5 patients were treated surgically by posterior vitrectomy, and one underwent a subretinal injection of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and gas tamponnade. Functional results were variable. Retinal atrophy secondary to the toxicity of the hemorrhage was observed in two cases. One macular hole was noted.