Abstract
The patient, a 12-year-old school boy, fell on the road while running, and suffered an impact injury on the left forehead. He immediately noticed blurred vision in the left eye. Neurological examination was normal apart from blurred vision of the left eye. Ophthalmologic examination 9 months later disclosed a visual field defect, impairment of visual acuity and optic atrophy in the left eye. He was suspected of having a left optic canal fracture. On surgery, there was no fracture of the optic canal. However, the left optic nerve was markedly compressed against the optic roof by the left internal carotid artery. The left optic nerve was decompressed by unroofing of the optic canal. Postoperatively the visual field defects considerably improved. From these findings, it was speculated that his internal carotid artery was distorted, resulting in a compression of the optic nerve following the head injury.
