Purpose:
Congenital absence of the eyes, anophthalmia, is often, in fact, a version of microphthalmos with cyst upon careful observation. We wanted to further evaluate a child with septo-optic dysplasia having orbital augmentation surgery for the presence of any optic nerve or rudimentary optic nerve with non-conventional MRI scanning.
Methods:
A 1.5T MRI machine was used to form DWI and DTI images of the child's orbits and visual pathway. Computational software was used to create tractographic images of the malformed orbital and visual pathway anatomy.
Results:
Excellent tractogarphy, DTI and DWI images were obtained from the subject. Areas of interest included potential sites of residual optic nerve within the child's orbit.
Conclusions:
Non-conventional MRI offers us a new way of assessing rare but important developmental abnormalities of the visual system. The possible anatomical presence of optic nerve within the human orbit may give us a way of stimulating visual impulses in a child who would otherwise be entirely blind.
Keywords: optic nerve • orbit • visual development: infancy and childhood