Retinitis pigmentosa with recurrent vitreous hemorrhage

We observed recurrent vitreous hemorrhage in two patients with retinitis pigmentosa: a 41-year-old female and a 49-year-old male. At age 41, the first patient had diffuse capillary dilatation, macular microaneurysms, and paramacular macroaneurysms in the right eye. At age 47, similar retinal vascular lesions and disc neovascularization developed in the left eye followed by recurrent vitreous hemorrhage. The retinal microvascular changes and vitreous hemorrhages subsided spontaneously during the ensuring 4 years. In the second case, recurrent vitreous hemorrhage developed in the right eye. Funduscopy and fluorescein angiography at age 49 revealed no angiopathy. However, 2 years later we detected retinal neovascularization in the macula and an avascularity in the peripheral retina in the right eye. Subretinal exudate or retinal detachment was consistently absent in both cases.