Retinal embolism from left atrial myxoma.

Retinal artery embolism that had arisen as a complication of a left atrial myxoma was diagnosed in a young man who had suddenly developed a visual disorder in his left eye. A tumor in the left atrium was surgically excised. Pathologically, retinal embolism secondary to atrial myxoma is rare. To our knowledge, only 15 cases have been documented so far. The present case was only the second case of an isolated retinal embolism that had developed without systemic involvement, and the first case of retinal artery branch embolism that had resulted from a left atrial myxoma.