Disc Melanocytoma - Right Eye Involvement

These images belong to a 61-year-old female patient with a visual acuity of 20/20 in both eyes. She had a melanocytoma on the optic disc of her right eye (yellow arrow) and an old branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) (white arrows) with secondary neovascularization that was treated with laser photocoagulation on the left (blue arrows). Melanocytomas and BRVO’s are unrelated conditions. Melanocytomas are typically unilateral and caused by a proliferation of benign melanocytes. They usually appear darker in color and are generally close to the optic disc. Some melanocytomas do extend into the peripapillary retina and may appear analogous to a choroidal nevus. Although melanocytomas are benign and usually asymptomatic tumors, they can occasionally cause visual field defects and rarely undergo malignant transformation to a melanoma. Thus, it is important for patients with melanocytomas to have long-term observation. In this case, she was educated about her condition and was asked to return every 2-3 years.