Spontaneous surface wrinkling retinopathy.

Spontaneously occurring surface wrinkling retinopathy occurreed in 17 eyes of 16 patients and was not related to pervious surgery, retinal vascular disease, or obvious ocular inflammation. Visual symptoms were not severe and follow-up suggests that the usual course of surface wrinkling is usually benign. However, 2 eyes progressed to 20/300, so that there is a chance of considerable visual deterioration in some cases. The vitreous may or may not be detached. The ophthalmoscopic features of a wrinkled shagreen, tortuous vessels pulled toward a nidus, and intraretinal hemorrhages were seen. The leakage of fluorescein into the retina is emphasized in this series and may be fairly marked. The possible causes and mechanism of wrinkling are discussed with emphasis on mild chronic ischemia and posterior vitreous collapse.