Purpose: To study the angiographic changes in the optic disc and its surrounding choroidoretina after optic nerve contusion with fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA), and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).
Methods: Thirty patients (30 eyes) with various degree of optic nerve damage caused by ocular contusion were examined with FFA and ICGA. (The choroidal rupture were excluded in this study).
Results: All patients present some abnormal angiography except one case. The main findings in FFA were hypofluorescein on quadrantal or entire disc in the early phase and leakage or persistent nonperfusion in the late phase. Meanwhile, the choroid surrounding disc was clearly delayed in its choroidal filling time. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) damage was observed over the localized abnormally perfused choroid. However, the RPE above the circular area around the disc which was hypofluorescein in ICGA showed no RPE damage in 9 cases. There are 2 cases combined with branche retinal vein occlusion and 19 (63%) cases showed ischemic changes exactly on the location of so-called "water separating zone". The visual acuity was not more than 0.1 in 80% of the patients in this study.
Conclusions: There is severe optic nerve lesion in the strong ocular contusion, in which the choroidal and retinal arterial circulation has also been seriously damaged. The FFA and ICGA should be conducted in time in order to judge the injury correctly and allow the clinician to better manage the cases.