Forty-one patients with Wagner's vitreoretinal degeneration were studied. The polymorphous ocular signs of this disease included vitreous changes, myopia, cataract, retinal pigmentation, retinal breaks, patchy areas of thinned pigment epithelium or of chorioretinal atrophy, narrowing or sheathing of the retinal vessels, extensive white with pressure, lattice degeneration, marked meridional folds, optic atrophy and subnormal or normal electroretinograms. The main cause of blindness was retinal detachment of relatively poor surgical prognosis due to a variety of causes. Various types of retinal breaks were found in close association with vitreous and retinal disease. Early diagnosis of this disease is important. Members of the patient's family should be checked for retinal breaks. Prophylactic treatment for retinal detachment should be considered before cataract develops.
• A 15-year-old boy was seen initially with decreased vision in his left eye. Ophthalmoscopic examination showed numerous pigmented subretinal tracts with traction lines radiating to the fovea. Peripheral examination disclosed a maggot in the superior nasal quadrant of the vitreous. There was a hemorrhage emerging from the exit wound in the retina. Removal of the maggot was not indicated because there was no inflammation.
—We were very pleased that the macular photocoagulation study1in the SeptemberArchivescorroborated our long-standing conviction, based on more than 400 cases treated in the last seven years, that photocoagulation, when adequately applied to the subretinal neovascular membrane of ocular histoplasmosis, is effective. However, we are disappointed in the following areas: Time of treatment as a factor was not considered in the evaluation of the results. Perhaps the small number of cases entered in the study prevented obtaining a significant statistical analysis of this factor. Having practiced in histoplasmosis endemic area for the past 23 years, we have been most impressed with the poor prognosis directly related to the delays in the application of laser therapy.2,3 The role of steroid therapy was not evaluated. In our experience, once the active subretinal membrane has developed steroid treatment is of no value. We frequently continue to observe
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