[Optic nerve pits: clinical and therapeutic review of 21 cases]

A retrospective study of optic nerve pits in patients referred to our clinic during the last 15 years was conducted. The study included 21 eyes in 19 patients. The optic pit was associated with a serous macular detachment (SMD) in 19 eyes (90%). Various treatments of the SMD were used depending on the time period. Systemic corticosteroids were used in five patients. The SMD did not respond to this treatment. Argon laser photocoagulation was applied to the temporal side of the optic disc in five patients. Intravitreal injection of pure gas was used as an adjunct to photocoagulation treatment in eleven eyes. Pure SF 6 was used in 8 eyes, and C 3 F 8 in 3 eyes. The follow-up after treatment was over 6 months in 10 patients who underwent photocoagulation or the combination of photocoagulation and gas injection. The SMD remained unchanged in two eyes which underwent photocoagulation treatment without gas injection. In the group of patients treated by photocoagulation in association with SF 6 injection, the SMD totally reattached in one eye, decreased in 2 eyes and remained unchanged in 2 eyes. Total resorption of subretinal fluid and permanent retinal reattachment occurred in the 3 eyes treated by intravitreal injection of pure C 3 F 8 as an adjunct to photocoagulation treatment. Further clinical investigations on large series of patients are required to determine whether prolonged retinal tamponade by C 3 F 8 gas in association with photocoagulation treatment is a valuable method in the management of SMD complicating optic nerve pits.