Purpose: To present a patient with a subhyaloid hemorrhage from proliferative diabetic retinopathy who showed a unique contrast between the fundus autofluorescent patterns of yellow with red blood.
Methods: Analysis of color and autofluorescence fundus photographs of a patient with an aging subhyaloid hemorrhage.
Results: The remnants of a resorbing subhyaloid hemorrhage had two layers, a superior yellow portion that was intensely hyperautofluorescent and an inferior relatively hypoautofluorescent red portion. We argue that the yellow appearance of the devitalized blood and fluorophores imaged are related to free-base porphyrins.
Conclusion: Fundus autofluorescence is a useful modality to image subhyaloid blood and may lend important insights into the fluorophores that hyperfluoresce. The blood breakdown products are potentially toxic and autofluorescence imaging may offer clues to their presence.