Development of central retinal vein occlusion in dural carotid-cavernous fistula.

We investigated a 46-year-old woman with central retinal vein occlusion complicating dural carotid-cavernous fistula, resulting in severe loss of visual acuity. Venous stasis retinopathy observed on the first examination progressed severely so that central retinal vein occlusion with retinal neovascularization developed 3 months later. A transvascular embolization discontinuing the feeders from the external carotid artery improved the retinal circulation and the visual acuity. These results indicate that the cause of the progression from venous stasis retinopathy to central retinal vein occlusion is the elevation of pressure in the cavernous sinus.