Biomicroscopic evaluation and photography of posterior vitreous detachment

This is a preliminary effort to demonstrate conditions of the posterior vitreous more objectively by slit-lamp photography. For this purpose, a + 58.6-diopter, aspherical, preset lens (El Bayadi-Kajiura lens [Nikon]) and a photoslit (Zeiss Jena) were used. The most fundamental aspect in our technique of observation and photography of the posterior vitreous is that of catching the appropriate moment during the vitreous movement that follows horizontal and/or vertical displacement of the patient's eye. Posterior vitreous photographs by this method in normal eyes, retinitis pigmentosa, Wagner's disease, and preretinal macular fibrosis associated with macular edema in phakic eyes are presented, and biomicroscopic characteristics in each of these diseases are discussed. Our observations clearly demonstrate a new technique for detailed examination and photography of the posterior vitreous.