Choroidal neovascularization as a late complication of ocular toxoplasmosis

Abstract

Macular detachment caused by choroidal neovascularization in eyes with previous toxoplasmic infections is one possible explanation of sudden loss of visual acuity. Three patients with quiescent chorioretinal scars, presumed to be toxoplasmic in origin, developed choroidal neovascular membranes that caused sudden loss of visual acuity. In none of the three cases was there any ophthalmoscopic evidence of intraocular inflammation. In two patients, the choroidal neovascularization was subfoveal and, therefore, not suitable for photocoagulation. However, visual acuity in each of the affected eyes was only partially impaired (6/15 [20/50] in one patient and 6/30 [20/100] in the other). In the third patient, the choroidal neovascular membrane was treated with argon-laser photocoagulation. Two months after treatment, visual acuity in that eye was 6/9 (20/30), and there was angiographic evidence that the neovascular membrane had closed.