Surgery for proliferative diabetic retinopathy in a case of Prader-Willi syndrome

Purpose : To report a case of Prader-Willi syndrome who received vitreous surgery for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Case : A 23-year-old male presented with impaired visual acuity in both eyes. Prader-Willi syndrome had been suspected at the age of 3 years for obesity and characteristic face. Partial defect of chromosome 15p led to the definitive diagnosis at the age of 4 years. He had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the age of 10 years. Findings and Clinical Course : He was 151 cm tall and 97 kg in weight. Corrected visual acuity was 0.04 in either eye. Both eyes had axial length of about 21 mm and corneal refraction of 47 diopters. Both eyes showed proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Central retinal vein occlusion was present in the left eye and vitreous hemorrhage in the left. Both eyes received vitrectomy and phacoemulsification-aspiration with filling of vitreous cavity by silicone oil. Final visual acuity was 0.05 right and 0.2 left. Conclusion : Surgery was effective for diabetic retinopathy in the present case of Prader-Willi syndrome. Patients with this syndrome need early detection and treatment due to pre- and postsurgical problems.