Purpose: Retinal racemose hemangioma is a rare, unilateral, nonhereditary, arteriovenous malformation characterized by the appearance of dilated and tortuous retinal vessels. Retinal racemose hemangioma can develop complications associated with retinal ischemia, such as vitreous hemorrhage, retinal vein occlusion, and neovascular glaucoma. Here, a case of retinal racemose hemangioma with retinal hypoperfusion detected by wide-field swept-source optical coherence tomographic angiography was reported, which was not unambiguously illustrated by fluorescein angiography.
Methods: Case report.
Results: A 57-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of severe retinal vascular tortuosity, dilation, and retinal hemorrhages in the left eye. Fundus examination revealed arteriovenous communications temporal to the fovea and multiple microaneurysms surrounded by retinal hemorrhages at the midperipheral temporal fundus. In fluorescein angiography, multiple hyperfluorescent lesions with leakage corresponding to microaneurysms were observed in the temporal and lower midperipheral areas; however, nonperfused areas were apparently absent. By contrast, wide-field optical coherence tomographic angiography clearly showed low-density retinal capillaries in the superotemporal quadrant in comparison with those in the inferotemporal quadrant.
Conclusion: Wide-field optical coherence tomographic angiography detected sparse retinal capillaries, which were not well illustrated by fluorescein angiography, in a patient with retinal racemose hemangioma. This indicates the presence of low-grade retinal hypoperfusion caused by altered retinal hemodynamics, potentially leading to ischemia-related retinal disorders during a prolonged course, in patients with clinically quiescent retinal racemose hemangioma.
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Opthalmic Communications Society, Inc.