A case of acute retinal necrosis in the fellow eye sixteen years after the first eye

Purpose: To report a case of acute retinal necrosis (ARN) that involved the fellow eye 16 years later. Case: A 23-year-old female developed ARN in her right eye presumably due to herpes simplex infection. The retinal lesion subsided after antiviral treatment and vitreous surgery. She noticed hyperemia in the left eye 16 years later at the age of 39 years. Corrected visual acuity was 0.04 right and 1.2 left when seen 2 weeks later. The left eye showed signs of inflammation in the anterior chamber and paravascular exudates in the fundus, suggestive of ARN. Biopsy of the aqueous showed herpes simplex virus. The left eye was treated by acyclovir and vitreous surgery. She is doing well for 22 months until present with left visual acuity of 0.3. Conclusion: This case illustrates that ARN may involve the fellow eye after an interval of 16 years.