Recovery following acute obstruction of the retinal and choroidal circulations. A case history.

The authors report a 70-year-old man who presented with a combined obstruction of both the central retinal artery and the lateral posterior ciliary artery that spontaneously reperfused after 4 days of documented ischemia. Despite this prolonged period of decreased perfusion, visual acuity improved from light perception to 20/30 with the re-establishment of normal retinal and choroidal blood flow as documented with intravenous fluorescein angiography. The theory of retinal tolerance time to obstruction of the central retinal artery and its bearing on possible therapeutic interventions are discussed.