Foveal spot: a report of thirteen patients.

PURPOSE: To describe the natural history of a series of patients with a small foveal or juxtafoveal red lesion.

METHODS

Retrospective chart review of 13 patients with a small foveal or juxtafoveal red spot. Long-term follow-up examination was obtained in seven patients.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients with a mean age of 34.6 years are reported. Initial visual complaints ranged from no complaints to mild blurring and central distortion of vision. None of the patients had a history of sun gazing or known macular disease. Eleven of the 13 patients had best-corrected visual acuities in the involved eye that were better than 20/30. The lesions were bilateral in five patients and unilateral in eight. When performed, optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography were unremarkable. Follow-up was obtained in seven patients (mean, 58 months), and visual acuity remained stable in all affected eyes. In all patients, the lesions remained stable without expansion or alteration of the foveal appearance over the course of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This report identifies a foveal or juxtafoveal, irregular, apparently intraretinal, red lesion of unclear cause. Long-term follow-up of these patients has demonstrated stable visual acuity and lesion appearance.