Spectral domain optical coherence tomography findings of acute branch retinal artery occlusion from calcific embolus

Abstract

An 82-year-old female presented with sudden painless decrease in vision in the right eye after awakening. She could see the “superior half” of her vision from the right eye only. On examination, best-corrected vision was 20/300 in the right eye and 20/30 in the left eye. The fundus in the right eye revealed recent superotemporal branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) with calcified plaque at the disc. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) (OTI Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc.), revealed hyperreflectivity and increased thickness of the inner retinal layers of the superior compared to the inferior retina. Imaging at the optic disc revealed the blocked artery containing a highly reflective material. The high reflectivity of the material and underlying optical shadowing could be characterized as calcific emboli.