Immunohistochemical characterization of a retinal hamartoma

Purpose To describe the immunohistochemical features of a retinal hamartoma. Methods A 38 year old man was referred for preretinal fibrosis on his right eye. There was loss of vision for more than 8 years with metamorphopsia. The left eye was normal. Oct imaging showed an epiretinal fibrosis with extensive macular oedema. A 27Gauge vitrectomy was performed. The lamina limitans interna (ilm) was peeled after staining with Membrane Blue Dual and sent for histopathology. Results After removal the epiretinal membrane was immediately fixed with PreservCyt ® in a ThinPrep ® container. The specimen was routinely processed by the Cellient ® embedding system. Microscopy showed a folded Pas positive membrane, recognized as ilm with on one side some glial remnants and on the other side a cuboidal non‐pigmented epithelium. The glial remnants stained with glial fibrillar protein (gfap), the epithelium with prekeratin AE 1/ AE 3. CD 34 stain was positive in preretinal capillaries. Conclusions A strange retinal fibrosis consisted of glial tissue and a row of superficial cuboidal non‐pigmented epithelium cells. This kind of hamartoma with immunohistological description was never investigated or published.