Central serous choroidopathy with bullous retinal detachment.

We report here a new type of secondary retinal detachment that has never been clearly defined. The characteristic features of the disease are: (1) prevalence in middle-aged males, (2) bilateral involvement, (3) frequent existence of prodromal lesions that over long periods resemble central serous retinopathy, (4) in the evolution stage, appearance of multiple yellowish white exudative flecks of one-half to one disc in diameter at or near the posterior pole of the fundus, (5) fluorescein studies revealing pronounced leakage of dye from the choroid into the subretinal space at the sites of exudates, (6) retinal detachment of various degrees with shifting subretinal fluid and without tears, (7) no evidence of intraocular inflammation, (8) no filling abnormalities seen in the choroidal fluorescence, (9) no response to medical therapy, including steroids and antibiotics, (10) photocoagulation to leakage sites leading to rapid resolution of retinal detachment; otherwise, spontaneous healing of detachment occurring within about 7-9 months, leaving fibroblastic macular scars and marked visual loss, and (11) no evidence of systemic findings that may be of etiologic significance. From this characteristic clinical picture, the idea of a new clinical entity must be considered. Our findings in 35 eyes from 18 Japanese patients are discussed.