Fluorescein angiographic appearance of Dalen-Fuchs nodules in sympathetic ophthalmia

Abstract

A case of sympathetic ophthalmia is presented in which a single lesion located posteriorly at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium caused a serous macular detachment. We believe that this lesion represented an atypical Dalen-Fuchs nodule. Most reports of the fluorescein angiographic appearance of Dalen-Fuchs nodules describe multiple sites of choroidal leakage during the early phases, which may coalesce during the late phases of the angiogram. The lesion we detected was hypofluorescent in early phases of the fluorescein angiogram and showed late staining. The early hypofluorescence seen in the lesion may be explained by an intact retinal pigment epithelium over the presumed Dalen-Fuchs nodule, blockage of choroidal fluorescence by the nodule, and areas of granulomatous inflammation in the inner choroid and choriocapillaris. The staining in the late phases of the fluorescein angiogram may be explained by accumulation of fluorescein into the presumed Dalen-Fuchs nodule.