Background: The idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, also known as "posterior uveal bleeding syndrome" or "multiple recurrent serosanguineous retinal pigment epithelial detachments in black women" is a rare disease entity. A clincopathologic correlation of a patient with this disease is presented.
Case report: A 47-year-old black woman was evaluated for a decrease of visual acuity in her right eye which had occurred over the last 3 months. Ophthalmic examination of her right eye revealed sub-RPE hemorrhage associated with a reddish-orange subretinal vascular-like lesion. In addition, both eyes displayed a few choroidal vascular-like bulbous structures in the superior temporal peripapillary region. The patient developed an extensive choroidal hemorrhage that led eventually to the enucleation of the eye.
Conclusion: Choroidal neovascular membranes (CNV) secondary to idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy differs in many aspects from other entities associated with CNV including clinical and fluorescein angiographic features, clinical course, and prognosis.