Opthalmology

Unit 5: Children & Squint

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3.Leucocoria

Common Causes

The more common causes are:

Congenital cataract
snowflake cataract / leucocoria

Source: EyeRounds.org.

Contributor: William Charles Caccamise, Sr, MD, Retired Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Congenital Cataract


Coats disease

  • Rare idiopathic unilateral retinal telangiectasia
  • More prevalent in boys
  • Usually occurs around 5 years of age
Example of Coats disease

Image Credit: A. Alkaler


Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

  • Occurs when the primary (embryonic) vitreous fails to regress
  • Usually unilateral
  • Vision is related to extent of posterior retinal involvement

 

Example of Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

Source: EyeRounds.org. Contributor: Andrew Doan, MD, PhD, University of Iowa.


Toxocariasis

  • Rare worm infection aquired in early childhood
  • Ocular involvement usually unilateral
  • Posterior or peripheral retinal granuloma
  • May be associated with chronic intraocular inflammation

 

Toxocariasis

Source: Adapted from an image uploaded to retinagallery.com by Steven Cohen.


Retinoblastoma

  • Rare, but the most common intraocular malignancy in children
  • Can be hereditary and bilateral
  • Needs urgent ophthalmologist referral

 

Example of Retinoblastoma

Source: EyeRounds.org. Contributor: Andrew Doan, MD, PhD & James Coombs, MD, University of Iowa