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Case Reports
. 2017 May 15;17(1):68.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-017-0467-6.

Case of asteroid hyalosis that developed severely reduced vision after cataract surgery

Affiliations
Case Reports

Case of asteroid hyalosis that developed severely reduced vision after cataract surgery

Ryosuke Ochi et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: To report our findings in a patient with asteroid hyalosis (AH) who had a severe reduction of his visual acuity following cataract surgery. The vision was improved by vitreous surgery.

Case presentation: The patient was an 81-year-old man. Following cataract surgery on his left eye, his decimal best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was markedly reduced from 0.2 to 0.02. A large number of asteroid bodies (ABs) was observed to be concentrated on the posterior surface of the implanted intraocular lens. Ultrasound B-mode images showed turbidity of the vitreous that was denser in the anterior vitreous where the ABs were concentrated. During vitrectomy, the ABs were observed to be concentrated in the anterior vitreous cavity, and a complete posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) was present. After vitrectomy successfully removed the ABs, the visibility of the fundus improved and the BCVA recovered to 1.0.

Conclusion: We suggest that the visual impairment after the cataract surgery was due to the concentrated ABs in the anterior vitreous cavity. The clustering of the ABs in the anterior vitreous cavity was most likely caused by the PVD that developed during the cataract surgery.

Keywords: Asteroid hyalosis; Cataract surgery; Posterior vitreous detachment; Vitreous surgery.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Ocular findings in a patient with asteroid hyalosis (AH) after successful cataract surgery. The asteroid bodies (ABs) appear to be concentrated in the anterior vitreous cavity of the left eye (a), and an ultrasonic B-mode image shows a shadow that appears to be a cluster of asteroid bodies (ABs) in the anterior vitreous cavity (b)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Intraoperative findings. The ABs are concentrated in the anterior vitreous cavity and a complete posterior vitreous detachment is present (a, b)

References

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