Microvascular Capillary Plexus Findings of Commotio Retinae on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histopathology features of commotio retinae (CR) have been established, but alterations of the microvascular macular capillary plexus on OCT angiography (OCTA) has not been previously studied. We present a 46-year-old man who sustained a tennis ball injury to the right eye with visual acuity reduction to 20/30 and grey-white deep macular discoloration, suggestive of CR. Spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) showed increased reflectivity and thickness of the ellipsoid zone (junction of photoreceptor inner and outer segments). OCTA revealed no apparent microvascular alterations (right versus left eye) in the foveal avascular zone superficial (0.42 vs. 0.43 mm2) and deep (0.45 vs. 0.44 mm2), superficial foveal capillary density (34.1 vs. 32.6%), and superficial parafoveal capillary density (55.2 vs. 52.2%). Deep macular capillary plexus and choriocapillaris were qualitatively comparable between the two eyes. At 2 months’ follow-up, SD-OCT had normalized. CR is characterized by disruption of the ellipsoid zone without detectable alteration of the capillary plexuses.

Keywords

• Commotio retinae
• Berlin’s edema
• Optical coherence tomography angiography
• Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography
• Traumatic maculopathy