Optic Atrophy following Optic Neuritis

These are color disc and optical coherence tomography (OCT) photos from a 59-year-old woman with a history of optic atrophy in her left eye. At her current exam, her right eye is normal with a visual acuity of 20/20 while her left eye is 20/50. Her eye pressures were normal bilaterally. She had an afferent pupillary defect in her left eye that is consistent with her condition. Compared to her normal right eye, her left eye optic disc appears pallid (yellow arrow). This is sign of damage to the nerve fiber layer (whiter layer) of the retina which is notable in her OCTÕs. Scans of her left eye show no retinal nerve fiber layer (compare the red arrow to the white arrow). There are many causes for optic atrophy such as trauma and glaucoma. In her case she had history of optic neuritis years previously.