Retinal Detachment Associated with Optic Nerve Anomalies: Clinical Features, Pathogenesis, Management

Congenital anomalies of the optic nerve head are a group of structural malformations of the optic nerve head and surrounding tissues, which may cause visual impairment. Retinal detachment commonly occurs in association with congenital anomalies of the optic disc, including morning glory disc anomaly, optic disc pit, optic disc coloboma, peripapillary staphyloma, and Aicardi syndrome. Notably, visual impairment and retinal detachment may not be the only problem in these patients; some of these entities will be related to neurologic and systemic features, which sometimes may be life-threatening. This review presents an overview of the clinical features of these optic disk anomalies and current therapeutic approaches for the treatment of retinal detachment associated with them.