Clinical and optical coherence tomography characteristics of combined hamartoma of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium

Combined hamartoma of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (CHRRPE) is a rare and benign retinal lesion. Because it may be misdiagnosed as a malignant melanoma of the choroid or retinoblastoma, the differential diagnosis is very important. In this study, clinical and optical coherence tomographic (OCT) characteristics of four cases with CHRRPE are presented and the differential diagnosis is discussed. In all of the eyes, a grey, elevated retinal lesion was detected clinically. Also OCT showed hyper-reflecting retinal elevation with underlying hypo-reflecting shadow due to the dense fibrous tissue or epiretinal membrane. It was concluded that OCT findings could support the clinical observations in the diagnosis of CHRRPE.