She had never taken tamoxifen. Ocular motility, pupillary light reflexes, and slit lamp examination were normal. The patient refused to have a fluorescein angiogram. Normal right fundus. Left fundus shows numerous refractile deposits in the superficial retina.
Retinal deposits are related to the cumulative drug dose ingested.
Our patient took a total dose of approximately 27 g over two years which placed her at intermediate risk for retinopathy. Canthaxanthin retinopathy may be slowly reversible. Since it has been two years since our patient ingested canthaxanthin, unilateral crystalline deposits could represent different rates of resorption. This patient illustrates, however, that canthaxanthin deposits can exist unilaterally in a normal retina. Asymmetric canthaxanthin retinopathy.