Methods: Ophtalmic examinations were made in 26 male patients with Buerger’s disease (mean age 40.4±9.6 years; range 22 to 56 years) who underwent lumbar sympathectomy, amputation, ulcer care and medical treatment and 26 healthy males (mean age 40.3±9.3 years; range 23 to 57 years) as a control group. There were no major atherosclerotic risk factors except for male gender and smoking.

Results: In the Buerger’s disease group, only two patients had normal fundus. There was mild optic atrophy in two patients. While grade I retinopathy was seen in 10 patients, and grade II retinopathy in 12 patients, only four individuals had grade I retinopathy (p<0.05) and the rest had normal fundus examinations in the control group.

Conclusion: In our study, atherosclerotic hypertensive grade I and II retinopathies were seen more frequently in Buerger’s disease group than control group although there were no major atherosclerotic risk factors, in both groups, like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obesity except for smoking and male gender. This result shows that findings resembling hypertensive atherosclerotic retinopathy may develop in Buerger’s disease.