Orbital color Doppler imaging in embolic central retinal artery obliteration associated with neovascular glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To describe the detection of an embolism in the retrobulbar circulation using orbital color Doppler imaging (OCDI) in a patient with an inaccessible fundus because of neovascular glaucoma.

METHODS

Review of the clinical, laboratory, photographic, and orbital color Doppler imaging records of a patient with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) associated with neovascular glaucoma.

RESULTS

A 42-year-old man had no light perception in the left eye secondary to neovascular glaucoma. The fundus was not visible because of corneal edema. Orbital color Doppler imaging established the diagnosis of embolic CRAO as the cause of neovascular glaucoma.

CONCLUSION

Orbital color Doppler imaging is an important diagnostic procedure for establishing CRAO as the cause of neovascular glaucoma when the fundus is not accessible. This noninvasive technology enables differentiation of embolic disease from other conditions as the cause of CRAO.