[Canthaxanthin retinopathy and macular pucker]

Canthaxanthine retinopathy is a crystalline retinopathy following oral ingestion of canthaxanthine-containing drugs. We describe the clinical course of a patient with canthaxanthine retinopathy and a preexisting idiopathic macular pucker. The ultrastructural findings of the macular pucker removed by vitreoretinal surgery are demonstrated. Granular material and lipid-like droplets, not usual for a macular pucker, are the major findings in this membrane. There is evidence that the granular material consists of canthaxanthine deposits, phagozytized by the cells of the epiretinal membrane.