Solitary intraretinal macular hemorrhage.

Thirty patients presented with a solitary intraretinal macular hemorrhage (SIMH) without clinical evidence of associated retinal or choroidal vascular disease. The hemorrhages originated from the perifoveal capillary network and often extended into the central fovea. They were solitary in all cases, usually small and situated beneath the internal limiting membrane. Fluorescein angiograms showed no abnormalities except for blockage of normal fluorescence of retinal and choroidal vessels underlying the hemorrhage. Resolution of the hemorrhage mostly occurred within 1-2 months, with complete recovery of visual acuity. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms such as clotting disorders or Valsalva maneuvers could be found in only a few cases, while in the majority of cases SIMH seemed to be idiopathic.