Nonfamilial vitreous amyloidosis diagnosed by portable sutureless vitrectomy.

Purpose: To describe a case of primary nonfamilial vitreous amyloidosis and a novel technique for expediting vitreous biopsy. Design: Interventional case report. Case: A 43-year-old man presented with progressive deterioration of vision and was found to have bilateral vitreous opacities. A systemic medical workup including family history was noncontributory. Given a high clinical suspicion of vitreous amyloidosis, the decision was made to obtain a vitreous biopsy for ultrastructural study. An office-based pars plana sutureless vitrectomy was performed. Pathologic study of the vitreous specimen confirmed the diagnosis of amyloidosis. Conclusion: Vitreous amyloid deposition may occur with neither systemic involvement nor family history. Sutureless pars plana vitrectomy may facilitate diagnosis while saving time and expense for both the physician and the patient. RETINAL CASES & BRIEF REPORTS 2:264–265, 2008