P 273
Hereditary retinal arteral tortuosityU. Schönherr, N. Wakili
Background: The hereditary retinal arterial tortuosity is a rare entity with unknown cause. It is characterized by recurrent vitreous hemorrhages and good prognosis.
Patients: We report on a 50-year-old father and his 11-year-old son referred to our department for recurrent vitreous hemorrhages. The refraction in both patients rangend between +5.5 and +6.5 diopter. The clinical work-up revealed no additional manifestations. The retina showed marked tortuosity of the arteries whereas the veins showed a normal aspect. Fluorescein angiography revealed a thinning of the arteries without any leakage. There were no alterations that would account for the predilection for hemorrhages.
Results: Despite the recurrent bleedings the visual acuity returned to normal.
Conclusion: The retinal arterial tortuosity seems to be a rare benign hereditary entitiy. There is no need for therapy. There is a good prognosis over the time despite the recurrent vitreous hemorrhages.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen