Choroiditis compatible with the histopathologic diagnosis of sympathetic ophthalmia following cyclocryotherapy of neovascular glaucoma.

A 44-year-old man had a blind painful right eye secondary to neovascular glaucoma. Cyclocryotherapy was performed because medical therapy was ineffective in lowering the intraocular pressure or reducing the pain. The eye became comfortable, but 5 months later vision decreased in the left eye. Examination revealed a marked posterior uveitis suggestive of sympathetic ophthalmia. Enucleation of the right eye and corticosteroid therapy were effective in eliminating inflammation in the left eye. Histopathologic examination of the exciting right eye revealed classic signs of sympathetic ophthalmia. This case is particularly unusual because there was no history or evidence of ocular perforation in the exciting eye.