Cavernous hemangioma of the retina. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural observations
E. Messmer, R. L. Font, H. Laqua, W. Hopping and G. O. Naumann
A 6-month old girl had unilateral leukokoria. Because retinoblastoma could
not be excluded, the blind left eye was enucleated. Histopathologically, a
total retinal detachment associated with a widespread cavernous hemangioma
of the retina and a preretinal membrane were found. The specimen was
further examined by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy to
determine the origin of the preretinal membrane and to study the anatomy of
the telangiectatic retinal vessels. The preretinal membrane was mostly
composed of spindle-shaped cells that demonstrated immunohistochemically
the presence of glial fibrillary-acidic protein and showed,
ultrastructurally, numerous glial filaments in their cytoplasm. These
findings support the view that this membrane was of glial origin. By
electron microscopy, the telangiectatic retinal vessels displayed the
anatomic features normally encountered in retinal vessels, which accounts
for the absence of exudates observed clinically and angiographically in
cases of cavernous hemangioma of the retina.
