Atrophy of myelinated retinal nerve fibres following pituitary surgery: Report of a case

Abstract

A 55-year-old man with bilateral myelinated retinal nerve fibres lost all vision in one eye and some vision in the other eye at the extirpation of a large pituitary adenoma. Eventually all myelin disappeared in the blind eye and some in the other eye. The process was not finished until more than 12 and nine months after surgery, respectively, and in the blind eye a smaller myelin patch disappeared earlier than a larger patch. Demyelination was secondary to postoperative descending optic atrophy.

Key Words:

• myelinated retinal nerve fibres
• demyelination
• optic atrophy
• pituitary surgery