Vision Loss and RNFL Thinning after Internal Carotid Arter Occlusion and Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction

Ischaemic, traumatic or neoplasmic damage to the optic chiasm, optic tract or lateral geniculate nucleus affects the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons, detected as reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness around the optic nerve head. We report a case of vision loss and reduced RNFL thickness after internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion and middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction.

A 33-year-old woman with a 3-month history of vision loss in right eye and left hemiplegia. The best corrected visual acuity was 1.0 in left eye and there was no light perception in the right eye. Ocular motility, intra-ocular pressure, anterior segments were normal in the both eyes. Her fundus examinations were normal except optic atrophy in the right eye. Visual field test was not performed because of cooperation difficulties. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an infarction of the right MCA. Computed tomographic angiography showed right ICA occlusion. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) demonstrated 6 clock hours of RNFL thinning in the right eye. Average RNFL thickness of the right and left eyes were 53µm, 96 µm respectively.

Our findings show that a relatively short period of ICA occlusion and MCA infarction can cause vision loss and thinning of the RNFL.