retinitis pigmentosa ( rp ) was defined as a group of hereditary disorders that diffusely involve photoreceptor and pigment epithelial function characterized by progressive visual field loss and abnormal electroretinogram .
rp also has changes at vitreoretinal interface , such as vitreoretinal traction and preretinal membrane , which causes macular disorders such as cystoids macular edema and macular hole .
we report a case of vitreoretinal traction syndrome associated with rp , which spontaneously resolved after posterior vitreous detachment ( pvd ) .
a 81-year - old woman presented with bilateral loss of peripheral vision and defective dark adaptation 15 years before .
the best - corrected visual acuity was 20/28 and 20/28 in the right and left eyes , respectively .
slit - lamp examination showed bilateral retinal arteriolar narrowing and intraretinal pigment deposition ( bone spicule pigmentation ) in both eyes ( figure 1a ) .
the visual fields of the patient were markedly constricted to the central 10 in both eyes ( figure 2 ) .
on june 2 , 2006 , retinal detachment was detected in the nasal periphery in the right eye ( figures 1b and 1c ) . at that time , pvd was confirmed with weiss ring ( figure 3 ) .
fluorescein angiography showed a hyperfluorescence due to atrophy of retinal pigment epithelium but no active leakage in the detached area ( figure 1c ) .
the detached area was within the area where the visual field was lost , and we observed a clinical course of this eye without any treatment . retinal detachment was kept localized and not extended .
five months later , pvd further progressed beyond the arcade area , accompanying retinal hemorrhage around the detached retina .
in this case , an eye with rp was complicated with tractional retinal detachment , possibly associated with increased vitreoretinal traction secondary to the incidence of pvd .
the retinal detachment was limited within the area where the visual field was lost and was not progressive .
eight months later , spontaneous resolution of tractional retinal detachment resulted from progression of pvd , which was suggested by transiently increased traction - related retinal hemorrhage .
eyes with rp may have abnormal liquefaction of vitreous and altered distribution of vitreoretinal adhesion .
the incidence of pvd in the posterior pole might result in the focal remarkable traction in the peripheral retina and tractional retinal detachment .
eight months later , the retinal detachment was resolved because local vitreoretinal traction was weakened with extention of pvd beyond the arcade vessels .
rp has vitreomacular traction - related pathologic events involving vitreomacular traction syndrome , cystoids macular edema , and macular hole.13 such changes in this patient with rp might result in a tractional retinal detachment .
rani et al4 reported that a 50-year - old man underwent a tractional retinal detachment involving the posterior pole with a taut posterior hyaloids surface . in this study ,
vitrectomy was not performed because the patient opted for no surgical intervention in view of poor prognosis . on the other hand ,
it was reported that vitrectomy was effective for vitreous opacity,5 cystoid macular edema,6 exudative retinal detachment,7 and macular holes8 in rp . however , regarding the indication to perform a vitrectomy , the balance of the expected gain in visual function and usual risks of vitrectomy and rp - related risks , such as phototoxicity worsening of visual field loss , and cystoid macular edema .
it might be a choice that a patient with tractional retinal detachment in rp is observed without surgical treatment , if the detached area is not progressive .
 we present a case of retinitis pigmentosa with vitreoretinal traction - associated retinal detachment . 
 the retinal detachment was detected in the nasal periphery . 
 no retinal breaks and no active vascular leakage were observed by fundus scopy and fluorescein angiography , respectively . 
 however , 8 months later , the tractional retinal detachment was spontaneously resolved with posterior vitreous detachment . 