Infrequency of retinal neovascularization following central retinal vein occlusion

Forty-eight patients with the clinical diagnosis of central retinal vein occlusion and ten surgically enulceated eyes with central retinal vein occlusion documented by histopathologic examination were studied and reviewed. Retinal neovascularization developed in only one of the ten eyes. Rubeosis iridis occurred in 14% (7) of the clinical cases and in all of the histopathologic cases. Ten eyes with neovascular glaucoma, enucleated following central retinal vein occlusion, showed absence of retinal endothelial cells. The absence of retinal capillary endothelial cells is significant in explaining the rare occurrence of retinal neovascularization following central retinal vein occlusion. However, the small number of cases may reflect a biased result. Further studies of more cases over a longer period are required to reach the final conclusion.