Purpose: To report a case of retinal cavernous hemangioma documented by spectral domain optical coherence tomography and retro-mode retinal imaging by confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope.
Methods: Clinical examination, fluorescein angiography, spectral domain optical coherence tomography, and scanning laser ophthalmoscope retro-mode imaging were performed.
Results: Fundus examination of the left eye of an asymptomatic 39-year-old woman showed an irregularly elevated dark red lesion with a cluster of various-sized saccular aneurysms. The retinal cavernous hemangioma lesions were in the upper vascular arcade. A late-phase fluorescein angiography image showed a typical finding, known as fluorescence capping, characterized by incomplete perfusion because of plasma-erythrocyte separation, which was seen in some larger aneurysms. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography showed that various-sized dilated cystic spaces corresponded to the aneurysms. The image showed the horizontal line, which corresponded to the fluorescence capping in some larger aneurysms. Scanning laser ophthalmoscope retro-mode images showed the individual sizes and septum of the aneurysms. The image also showed the characteristic dots-and-lines pattern around the retinal cavernous hemangioma at the corresponding area of inner retinoschisis attributed to the aneurysms without outer retinoschisis on the spectral domain optical coherence tomography images.
Conclusion: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography and scanning laser ophthalmoscope retro-mode imaging may be useful for evaluating the pathophysiologic features and the full extent of the retinal cavernous hemangioma.