Purpose:
To report previously not appreciated findings in the early phase of acute exudative polymorphous vitelliform maculopathy (AEPVM).
Methods:
Thirteen patients diagnosed with AEPVM were retrospectively analyzed, looking for the presence of inner and outer retinal cystic changes. Multi-modal imaging with color photography, fluorescein angiography (FA), fundus autofluorescence photography (FAF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) obtained during the course of the disease was evaluated.
Results:
All patients presented with typical multiple, bilateral, symmetric sensory retinal detachments in the posterior pole. OCT imaging showed large, dome-shaped serous detachments in the central macula of 19 of 26 (73%) eyes, and multiple, smaller, bleb-like detachments in the macula of 23 of 26 (88%) eyes. Cystic spaces involving the inner and outer retina without leakage on FA, were observed in 15 of 26 (58%) patients during the initial phase of the disease.
Conclusions:
Angiographically silent inner and outer retinal cystic cavities within the macular detachment are a common finding in the early phase of AEPVM. This finding may aid in gaining a better understanding of the pathologic mechanisms underlying this rare disease.
Keywords: retina • image processing • retinal degenerations: cell biology