Photoreceptor outer segments in the aqueous humor in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

We treated seven patients (all male, ranging in age from 11 to 31 years) with Schwartz syndrome, a combination of uveitis, high intraocular pressure, and retinal detachment with peripheral tears. The condition was resistant to corticosteroids but responded well to surgery. Puncture of the anterior chamber disclosed many outer segments of the visual cells with few inflammatory cells in the aqueous humor in all seven patients. Possibly the outer segments, flowing from the subretinal space through the peripheral retinal break into the aqueous humor, cover the trabecular meshwork and cause the decrease in the coefficient of outflow. Detection of the outer segments led us to make a definite diagnosis and institute the appropriate treatment.