Prophylactic laser photocoagulation in hereditary snowflake vitreoretinal degeneration. A family report

Examination of 37 members of a family revealed that 17 had snowflake vitreoretinal degeneration. All those affected showed some evidence of vitreous degeneration and 13 had retinal changes with differing degrees of severity. Vitreal changes may thus present as an early stage when hardly any retinal pathology is apparent. Peripheral retinal neovascularization was seen in four patients. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment developed in two eyes and retinal breaks in six additional eyes. Because of the poor surgical prognosis in such cases, prophylactic treatment with argon laser photocoagulation is recommended for any type of retinal break.