Central serous retinopathy.

CENTRAL SEROUS RETINOPATHY (CSR) WAS DESCRIBED IN 1866 BY ALBRECHT VON Graefe. 12 Later ophthalmologists elaborated on its clinical appearance, epidemiology, and possible etiology. 1-5,9,11 It is characterized by a histologically proven circumscribed serous detachment of the macula,6 and often additional identical lesions elsewhere in the fundus. Its etiology is speculative. It is not destructive, but may recur in the same or the fellow eye, and may eventually impair visual acuity. It is more prevalent in Japan than in the Western World.5 As soon as fluorescein angiography became available, it was found that central serous retinopathy showed a characteristic leak of fluorescein within the detached retina (Fig. 1). 8,11,13 In 1964, Maumenee8 demonstrated a cure ofthe condition by sealing the presumed defect of the pigment epithelium of the retina by a scar produced by light energy. These findings were verified by others223"14 and since then the argument has arisen whether to treat early or to let the disease take its natural course.