Knowing about variations in the location of the optic nerve and ophthalmic artery can aid surgeons in performing optic nerve decompression - a delicate operation performed in patients with vision loss resulting from head injury, reports a study in the November Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.
Led by Dr. Jiping Li, a head and neck surgeon at Shanghai (China) Jiaotong University School of Medicine, the researchers performed a study in cadavers to analyze the anatomy of the optic nerve and ophthalmic artery. They present important information on useful anatomical landmarks and common variations for surgeons to be aware of when performing optic nerve decompression.
Optic nerve decompression, as first discussed in a pioneering 1976 study by the current Editors-in-Chief of LWW's Journal of Craniofacial Surgery and Annals of Plastic Surgery, is sometimes needed in patients who have loss of vision after head injury, such as from car crashes. Swelling from head trauma can place pressure on the optic nerve, causing a decreased vision or blindness. Urgent surgery is sometimes needed to relieve the pressure on the optic nerve, in the hope of restoring vision.
In their study, Dr. Li and colleagues performed simulated optic nerve decompression surgery in eight cadaver heads. The procedure is done using a minimally invasive approach using an endoscope—a telescope-like instrument that lets the surgeon see and operate within the skull. The surgery is done through a "transsphenoidal" approach, meaning through the sphenoid sinus—one of the air spaces behind the nose.