Reduction of retinal venous tortuosity after detachable balloon occlusion of carotid-cavernous fistula

We used a wide-range (60-degree) fundus camera to record the configuration of the retinal vessels from one day before to 22 days after the detachable balloon occlusion of a posttraumatic carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula. Superimposition-composite photographic printing techniques disclosed that the therapy decreased retinal venous tortuosity throughout the field of observation, not just in the larger retinal tributary veins. Most of the straightening of the veins occurred after the first postoperative dya, suggesting that the mechanical properties of the veins and the adjacent retina are more viscous than elastic (otherwise the veins would have snapped back into positions immediately after the abnormal pressure was removed).