Purpose: To identify anatomic correlates in eyes with persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) by using high-frequency ultrasonography.
Method: Three main groups of patients were studied by means of high-frequency ultrasonography over a 19-month period. Group I included 9 eyes of 9 patients with newly diagnosed unilateral PHPV. Group II included 4 eyes of 4 patients with unilateral PHPV that had been previously surgically treated. Group III included 22 eyes and was a control group of patients without PHPV. This group consisted of the 5 contralateral normal eyes of 5 patients with unilateral PHPV in the fellow eye, both eyes of one patient with uncomplicated unilateral cataracts, the affected eye of one patient with unilateral uncomplicated cataract, the affected eye of one patient with isolated retinal coloboma, and 13 normal eyes of 7 young adults. Group I and II patients also had B-scan ultrasonography performed and had any intraoperative findings noted.
Results: Characteristic features of PHPV, such as centrally dragged ciliary processes and swollen anteriorly displaced lens, were observed only in those eyes with PHPV. A new echographic finding of a double linear echo was observed in the region of the pars plana or plicata only in eyes with PHPV. This finding was confirmed intraoperatively to be consistent with a thickened adherent anterior hyaloid face and not to be an anteriorly inserted peripheral retina.
Conclusion: High-frequency ultrasound can be reliably used to distinguish characteristic features of PHPV. To our knowledge this is the first such description of the use of high-frequency ultrasonography in PHPV eyes. Furthermore, the presence of a thickened adherent anterior hyaloid face may help explain the well-recognized complications of peripheral retinal tears and retinal detachments during and after surgical intervention.