OPTIC DISK PIT ASSOCIATED WITH AN UNUSUAL OUTER RETINAL HOLE AND NASAL PERIPHERAL RETINOSCHISIS

To document a peculiar case of optic disk pit-associated maculopathy with extensive nasal retinoschisis with lamellar outer retinal hole.

A 41-year-old woman presented to the eye clinic complaining of new photopsias and enlargement of the blind spot in the left eye. Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes. Fundus examination of the left eye revealed an anomalous appearing optic nerve with a gray oval depression at the temporal margin of the disk consistent with an optic disk pit.

Optical coherence tomography confirmed the presence of the pit and demonstrated outer plexiform layer schisis superonasal to the fovea and extensive inner and outer retinal schisis nasal to the nerve extending to the equator. A large lamellar outer retinal hole was noted nasal to the disk without associated retinal detachment. The vitreous appeared to be attached over the nasal retina.

Multimodal imaging revealed an unusual optic disk pit-associated retinopathy with dramatically more extensive retinoschisis and a lamellar outer retinal hole nasal to the nerve despite the temporal location of the pit. Although the precise pathophysiologic mechanisms are not fully understood, forces associated with the vitreo-retinal adhesion may have contributed to the distribution of the schisis in this case.