Purpose: We present a case of an ischemic retinopathy with severe vision loss secondary to a childhood stroke.
Methods: Case report.
Results: An otherwise healthy 9-year-old girl presented with a 1-day history of impaired gait and speech. After performing Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, thrombosis of the left Internal Carotid Artery was observed and a diagnosis of ischemic stroke was established. Serological autoimmune, coagulation, and viral panels were unrewarding. Cardiac, inflammatory and coagulation disorders were ruled out. The cause was attributed to a Focal Cerebral Arteriopathy, a common cause of childhood stroke. The patient was treated with mechanical thrombectomy followed by anticoagulation. The day after, the patient referred vision loss of 20/100 in the left eye. Fundus evaluation of the left eye depicted diffuse intraretinal hemorrhages as well as cotton-wool spots and there was retinal whitening at the posterior pole. Six weeks after, visual acuity dropped to counting fingers.
Conclusions: A macular optical coherence tomography revealed diffuse atrophic changes in the inner retinal layers at the macula, and the Angio-OCT showed an enlarged Foveal Avascular Zone. We propose ischemia-reperfusion as the primary explanation of this unusual event.