Combined branch retinal artery and central retinal vein obstruction

Abstract

We observed seven patients with the unusual combination of a central retinal vein obstruction in conjunction with a simultaneous branch retinal artery obstruction. The patients presented with sectoral retinal whitening, as well as diffuse peripapillary and superficial retinal hemorrhages. In five of the seven patients, the retinal hemorrhages appeared most florid in the territory of the obstructed arteriole, resulting initially in the consideration that these cases represented a combined branch retinal artery and branch retinal vein obstruction. In all cases, however, the presence of dilated, tortuous veins with diffuse retinal hemorrhages, in addition to generalized delay in arteriovenous transit on fluorescein angiography, localized the venous blockage to the central retinal vein. No intra-arterial retinal emboli were visualized. Initially, five of the seven patients suffered markedly diminished visual function; although visual acuity returned to near normal in all but two patients. In the two patients with non-resolving, markedly impaired visual acuity, neovascularization of the iris complicated the clinical course. Both of these patients were treated with panretinal photocoagulation, with resolution of the iris neovascularization. These seven patients highlight another variation of combined arterial and venous retinal vascular disease.