Background: Eyes with persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) may be mistaken for retinoblastoma and provide a diagnostic challenge.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the role of color Doppler imaging (CDI) in children with persistent fetal vasculature.
Materials and methods: Eyes with a diagnosis of PFV were evaluated by CDI.
Results: Twenty eyes of 17 children were included. All had a confirmed diagnosis of PFV based on one or more of the following: clinical findings on funduscopy, characteristic findings on imaging modalities (ophthalmic gray-scale US, CT and/or MRI), typical findings observed intraoperatively, and histopathological analysis (after enucleation in one case). Blood flow within the PFV was demonstrated in 19 eyes in this series.
Conclusion: CDI is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that may add useful information on the presence of blood flow within the PFV and may substantiate the diagnosis of PFV in cases of uncertainty.