Living retinal nematode (filarial-like) destroyed with photocoagulation.

A motile worm creating tracks upon the pigment epithelium of the retina was observed in each of two patients. The fundus findings resembled pseudoretinitis pigmentosa. Unilateral macular degeneration resulted in one patient. The worm was a nematode, probably a filaria. This report represents the third and fourth intraocular filariae found in the United States. To our knowledge, it is the first report of living, intraretinal filarial-like worms destroyed by photocoagulation.