| History: A 38 year-old man has this incidental finding of his left optic disc when attending the clinic for a corneal foreign body. He denies any past history of blurred vision in this eye. The optic disc appearance is consistent with an optic disc pit. The pit is thought to be caused by incomplete closure of the foetal fissure. Visual acuity usually remains unaffected unless the patient develops a serous non-rhegmatogenous retinal detachment of the macula which may resemble central serous retinopathy. These serous macular detachments are usually related to larger pits in the temporal region of the disc. The mechanism of production of the subretinal fluid associated with a serous detachment is still unclear. The most accepted theory is that fluid from the vitreous leaks through the optic pit and fills the sub-retinal space. There may also exist an abnormal communication between the subarachnoid space and the pit causing cerebrospinal fluid to percolate into the sub-retinal space. This fluid may also originate as seepage from choroidal vessels or disc capillaries. | |||
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