Genetic testing showed that the patient was heterozygous for a deletion of three bases (TTC) in exon 1 of the von Hippel-Lindau gene. This is similar to the genetic findings of Patel et al2 for a patient with a macular hemangioblastoma. The mutation spans two codons, resulting in in-frame loss of a phenylalanine at codon 76.
A case study of a 14Y boy was found with a juxtapapillary retinal hemangioblastoma and secondary neovascularization. 16 months later, genetic analysis revealed an in-frame mutation in the VHL gene (p.Phe76del). The patient and his family was still being investigated for other manifestations during the time of the publication.