Post-Cataract Surgery Visual Disturbance in a Retinitis Pigmentosa Patient with Asteroid Hyalosis

A patient with retinitis pigmentosa showed visual disturbances following successful cataract surgery. He had a dense asteroid hyalosis in the eye before cataract surgery. After the surgery he noticed that his vision became worse. The visual disturbance was explained as being caused by the progression of retinal degeneration. Although the electroretinogram was non-recordable, the degeneration of macular area appeared relatively small. We considered that dense asteroid hyalosis was responsible for his visual disturbances, and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) was performed to remove the asteroid hyalosis. After the PPV, rapid improvement of his visual acuity was observed. Cataract surgery may affect the status of asteroid hyalosis and cause rapid visual loss. PPV should be considered for retinitis pigmentosa patients with dense asteroid hyalosis, especially when a large decrease in visual acuity is noted shortly after cataract surgery.