Postpump retinopathy

Postpump syndrome is a systemic manifestation which occurs somewhat frequently after cardiac surgery when cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is used. It is probably caused by platelet injury secondary to plasma contact with the CPB machinery. Damaged platelets aggregate and result in small emboli which course throughout the body, causing short-lived infarcts in the smaller blood vessels in multiple organs including the eyes where the result is retinopathy. Postpump syndrome is well documented in the cardiovascular literature but not in the ophthalmologic literature. We report a case of postpump syndrome retinopathy seen in a 56-year-old black male who had previously undergone valve replacement surgery for endocarditis. Follow-up revealed a postoperative embolus which necessitated further evaluation by the cardiologist and cooperative care with the optometrist/ophthalmologist team at The Eye Institute. Sequential photographs document this retinopathy as well as the embolic complication.