Search results (13 results)

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This 60-year-old man suffered a sudden posterior vitreous detachment which produced a large tractional retinal tear at 11:30 o’clock in this eye. This white cystic retinal tuft located at 9:30 also suffered minor injury at the same time as revealed in the next slide pair.

Condition/keywords: posterior vitreous detachment, white retinal tuft

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is the same lesion as in the previous slide pair but the photograph was taken nine years later when the patient was 58-years-old soon after an acute posterior vitreous detachment. This demonstrates that posterior vitreous detachment can produce large retinal tears at these sites. However, it is important to emphasize that prophylactic treatment of cystic retinal tufts in the absence of a retinal tear would be very ill-advised because several hundred innocence and harmless lesions would have to be treated in order to prevent one tear of the retina.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, posterior vitreous detachment, retinal tear

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This asymptomatic lesion in a 27-year-old woman is a very interesting example of a cystic retinal tuft. Note the discrete white nubbin, which is the chief characteristic of this lesion. In this case, it is surrounded by a small area of subretinal fluid. The next slide pair will reveal the reason for this.

Condition/keywords: asymptomatic, cystic retinal tuft, subretinal fluid

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is a rather poor photograph taken in 1969 but is important for comparison with the next slide pair. It shows a cystic retinal tuft in a 49-year-old woman and was taken without scleral indentation. The two pigment spots just inferior to the tuft represent a secondary degenerative change in the pigment epithelium.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, degenerative changes of retinal pigment epithelium, pigmented spots

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This small elevated peripheral retinal lesion in a 48-year-old woman is a cystic retinal tuft. Such tufts are congenital developmental anomalies present from birth and situated behind the vitreous base. They are sites of abnormal vitreoretinal attachment, and can occasionally lead to retinal tears at the time of posterior vitreous detachment. They are present in about 5% of patients.

Condition/keywords: abnormal vitreal retinal attachment, behind the vitreous base, congenital anomaly, cystic retinal tuft, developmental anomaly, peripheral retinal lesion, present from birth

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This 68-year-old woman had a recent posterior vitreous detachment which produced this symptomatic horseshoe tear exactly at the site of this cystic retinal tuft. Note the characteristic discrete white nubbin at the apex, which is produced by a cap of glial cells with densely packed cytoplasm.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, glial cells, posterior vitreous detachment, white retinal tuft

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is the same lesion seen in the previous slide pair. With the scleral indentation performed more posteriorly, a small hemorrhage can be seen on the white tuft. This is proof of the vitreal retinal attachment at this spot. Posterior vitreous detachment can produce a retinal tear at the site of a cystic retinal tuft, but in this case has caused only a small hemorrhage.

Condition/keywords: posterior vitreous detachment, retinal hemorrhage, scleral indentation, vitreoretinal attachment

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This 52-year-old woman suffered a sudden posterior vitreous detachment which caused a large horseshoe tear at 12:00 o’clock in this eye. It also produced another change at 8:45 in this left eye shown in this photograph. Note the small hemorrhage just to the left of the vessel. Immediately to the left of the hemorrhage and lying alongside of the vessel is a yellowish lesion which actually represents a cystic retinal tuft. You will see it better in the next slide pair.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, posterior vitreous detachment, retinal hemorrhage, retinal vessel

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is the same eye that was described in slide pairs 15 and 16 and shows a large tractional symptomatic retinal tear at 12 o’clock. It was caused by a posterior vitreous detachment which placed sudden traction on a cystic retinal tuft. The whitish tuft is barely visible on the flap because it is not in focus. This tear was treated successfully with cryotherapy. The next slide pair is a postoperative view of the same lesion.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, posterior vitreous detachment, tractional retinal tear

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is the appearance of the previous lesion three weeks following prophylactic cryotherapy. Continuing vitreal retinal traction has a now torn the flap completely free from the retina. The whitish cystic retinal tuft can be discerned on the upper part of the free operculum. Along the lower half of the operculum superimposed over the dark shadow of the scleral indentation one may observe numerous, delicate, vitreous fibrils actually attaching to the operculum.

Condition/keywords: cystic retinal tuft, free operculum, prophylactic cyrotherapy, retinal flap, scleral indentation, vitreoretinal traction, vitreous fibrils

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is a fresh, symptomatic horseshoe tear at the site of a cystic retinal tuft in a 63-year-old man. This is really a double horseshoe tear because the two retinal vessels have resisted the vitreal retinal traction and have preserved an intact bridge of tissue between the tears. Note the prominent vitreous condensation attached to the apex of the upper tear and made much more visible because it is seen superimposed over the dark underlying shadow of scleral indentation.

Condition/keywords: bridge of tissue between tears, cystic retinal tuft, scleral indentation, vitreous condensation

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This is another example of a symptomatic retinal tear which occurred at the site of a cystic retinal tuft two days prior to the photograph when an acute posterior vitreous detachment occurred in this 64-year-old woman. Note the horizontal line of vitreous blood along the lower edge of the flap which demarcates the vitreous attachment to the flap.

Condition/keywords: acute posterior vitreous detachment, cystic retinal tuft, retinal flap, retinal tear, vitreous blood

Nov 9 2012 by Norman Byer

This 60-year-old man suddenly developed a vitreous hemorrhage from this acute horseshoe tear 3½ years following cataract extraction when a posterior vitreous detachment occurred. The white nubbin identifies this lesion as a preexisting cystic retinal tuft. The pigment spot beneath the flap is evidence of secondary trophic changes in the pigment epithelium. Note the irregular shape of the flap with the narrow tip and broad base. This was caused by vitreous traction which was exerted at two separate points on the retina and which tore the retina at each place.

Condition/keywords: acute posterior vitreous detachment, irregularly shaped flap, trophic pigmented changes, vitreous hemorrhage, vitreous traction, white retinal tuft