Vitreous findings in a patient with Terson's syndrome.

In Terson's syndrome a sudden increase in intracranial pressure due to spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage or head trauma may result in intraocular hemorrhage. A patient with bilateral vitreous hemorrhages underwent vitrectomy in both eyes with excellent result. In the right eye a glistening membrane was found with blood underneath, covering the macula. This was probably the internal limiting membrane (ILM). At the vitreous base and in the equatorial zone, attachment plaques are present between the ILM and the Müller cells. Because attachment plaques are missing in the posterior zone, where the ILM is much thicker, a retinal hemorrhage is capable of detaching the ILM from the retina in that area. The presence of attachment plaques is considered in relation to centripetal vitreous traction, which is absent in the area of the posterior precortical vitreous pocket (PPVP). The posterior wall of the PPVP coincides therefore probably exactly with the thick part of the ILM in the posterior zone.