Preservation of vision through Weiss ring after dense vitreous hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: To report an unusual case of retained vision through a Weiss ring in the setting of dense vitreous hemorrhage. METHOD: Case report of a 55-year-old woman with a 23-year history of type 1 diabetes mellitus who presented with new onset of blurred vision in the left eye as a result of a dense vitreous hemorrhage. RESULTS: The patient had received full scatter laser photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy in the right eye several years earlier and reported previous resolving episodes of vitreous hemorrhage in the left eye. Best-corrected visual acuity in the left eye was hand motions at 3 feet. However, with careful head positioning visual acuity improved to 20/40 through a small clear central island. Examination of the left fundus showed a dense vitreous hemorrhage with a clear, mobile opening in the posterior hyaloid corresponding to the Weiss ring. The retina could be partially visualized only through the area of the Weiss ring. CONCLUSIONS: This unusual case demonstrates the anatomical relationship between the posterior hyaloid and Weiss ring.