Torpedo Maculopathy in a Cataract Patient

Purpose: We present a case of torpedo maculopathy (TM) found incidentally after cataract surgery.Case summary: A 73-year-old female presented for cataract surgery in her right eye. Her preoperative uncorrected visual acuity was 0.3. The patient had a moderate nuclear cataract with posterior subcapsular opacity. Fundus examination revealed a torpedo-shaped hyperpigmented lesion surrounded by a hypopigmented margin, located at the superonasal retina and temporal side of the fovea. Seven days after cataract surgery, her best corrected visual acuity was 1.0. Post-operative optical coherence tomography revealed an outer retinal defect with focal choroidal excavation. Optical coherence tomography angiography demonstrated a deficit in the choroidal capillary layer. Fundus autofluorescence showed hypo-fluorescent lesions within the hyper-fluorescent margins. Hypocyanescence in the choroidal arterial phase was seen on indocyanine green angiography. Localized microscotomas were identified on the visual field exam.Conclusions: TM, associated with localized choroidal excavation, was detected incidentally in a patient scheduled for cataract surgery. Due to the potential risk of choroidal neovascularization and the progression of visual field defects in TM, long-term follow-up is needed.