Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026
Full-Circle Cauterization of Limbal Vascular Plexus for Surgically Induced Glaucoma in Rodents
Published on: February 15, 2022
Purtscher-like retinopathy associated with cerebro- or cardiovascular surgery
Eiki Oshida1, Shigeki Machida1, Tomoharu Nishimura1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, 2-1-50 Minami-Koshigaya, Koshigaya, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
Purpose:
To report the findings in five patients of Purtscher-like retinopathy that developed after cerebro- or cardiovascular surgeries.
Observations:
Three women and two men with a mean age of 56.6 years were studied. They had had cerebro- or cardiovascular disease that was treated by major vascular surgery. Postoperatively, all of the patients developed multiple patches of retinal whitening in the area corresponding to the radial peripapillary capillaries in the posterior pole of the eye uni- or bilaterally. In two patients, the optic nerve head was involved which affected their vision severely. Hematological examinations showed hypercoagulable state after the surgeries. The retinal pathologies abated with time.
Conclusions And Importance:
These results indicate that major cardio- or cerebrovascular surgeries can cause Purtscher-like retinopathy. The hypercoagulable state and specific structures of the radial peripapillary capillaries may play a role in pathogenesis of this disease.
