[Current aspects of the Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. Apropos of 9 cases].

We have studied 9 cases of the Vogt Koyanagi Harada (VKH) syndrome as defined by the criteria of the American Uveitis Society; all these cases presented evidence of past or present exudative retinal detachment (RD). In 2 cases the RD was shallow and limited to the posterior pole, in 3 cases encephalo-meningeal symptoms were absent, in 2 cases skin and hair symptoms were absent. In all, 5 cases in this series presented as an incomplete, dissociated form of the disease. However the clinical cause of the disease in these "formes frustes" was not simpler or quieter than in the complete forms; incomplete response or drug dependence were encountered with steroid therapy, and immunosuppressive drugs were used in 3 cases. It is to be noted that in one case an extensive RD involving the posterior pole occurred bilaterally: this RD did not respond to maximal steroid and immunosuppressive therapy and reattachment was obtained only after vitrectomy. In another case bilateral optic disc neovascularization was observed in association with severe papillitis despite heavy steroid therapy. A cure was obtained with immunosuppressive drugs.