Combined Transcranial-supraorbital and Transconjunctival Approach for Optic Nerve Coloboma with Ophthalmic Dysplasia Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

We report a 59-year-old woman with optic nerve coloboma and ophthalmic dysplasia associated with rheumatoid arthritis. She experienced progressive visual dysfunction over the course of several years and presented with headache and pain in the left eye. Since infancy the visual acuity of her left eye had been compromised and her eyesight worsened gradually until she was blind in the left eye. Macroscopic observation showed a reddish lesion on the sclera thought to be due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography disclosed a well-defined cystic lesion at the left retro-bulbar optic nerve within the optic nerve sheath. We selected the combined transcranial-supraorbital and transconjunctival approach to remove the eyeball after detaching the optic nerve. This technique was successful and the placement of an ocular prosthetic was cosmetically acceptable.