Whiplash maculopathy.

Abstract

Maculopathy in three patients, caused by whiphash injury demonstrated three features that are characteristic of this subtle disturbance of the macula: a history of flexion-extension, head and neck trauma; a history of immediate mild reduction of central visual acuity in one or both eyes; and grayish swelling of the foveal zone accompanied by a small (50 to 100-mu) pit or depression in the fovea. In patients with this disturbance, the retinal opacification and the visual disturbance are transient, but the tiny depression in the retina with its whitish border is permanent.