This 72YO male presented with unilateral asteroid hyalosis in his left eye. Vision was 20/40 OS with mildly symptomatic floaters. Retinal examination was extremely difficult due to the dense asteroid, although the fundus appeared normal.
Learning Points:
Asteroid hyalosis is caused by calcium-lipid complexes suspended throughout the vitreous. The condition gets its name from the white opacities resembling stars on a night sky.
Even with dense opacities, patients are rarely symptomatic, although retinal examination can be difficult. If a patient has vision loss with asteroid, the cause is almost always due to another condition.
