Ocular pathology of the congenital varicella syndrome.

Congenital anomalies are rare in infancy following maternal varicella during pregnancy. Abnormalities do occur, however, and form a specific pattern including cicatrical skin lesions, atrophic limb, low birth weight, and chorioretinal scarring. We saw an infant who had immunologic evidence of varicella-zoster virus contact in utero, microphthalmos of one eye, and chorioretinal scarring of the fellow eye. Ophthalmologists confronted with such ocular anomalies in children should inquire about the possibility of maternal varicella during pregnancy. Conversely, infants born of mothers known to have had varicella during pregnancy should be examined for fundus abnormalities.