Vitrectomy for large vitreous opacity in retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE: To describe a patient with bilateral retinitis pigmentosa and visu ally disabling vitreous opacities, who benefited from vitrectomy in both ey es. METHODS: A 37 year-old man with retinitis pigmentosa and severely constrict ed visual fields developed a large, dense, vitreous neater and visual obscu ration in the right eye. Subsequently, diffuse vitreous opacification and v isual obscuration developed in the left eye. RESULTS: Bilateral pars plana vitrectomy relieved the patient's visual obsc urations. Electron micrographs of the excised vitreous opacity from the lef t eye showed collagen fibrils and cellular debris. CONCLUSION: Visually significant vitreous opacities may develop as a compli cation of retinitis pigmentosa, The visual impact of such opacities may be magnified by its superimposition on limited visual fields, Vitrectomy may b e of benefit in such cases. (Am J Ophthalmol 2001; 131:133-134; (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.).