Patients with asteroid hyalosis and visible floaters.

Four patients with asteroid hyalosis who complained of seeing multiple spherical floaters were examined. Except for multiple brilliant particles in the gelatinous vitreous, no abnormalities were found by ophthalmoscopic examination. Asteroid bodies usually cause no visual symptoms in most patients. Therefore it is unusual that our patients with asteroid hyalosis perceived floaters. We concluded that it was because there had been no vitreous detachment so that the asteroid particles were located close enough to the retina to be perceived as floaters.