Optic nerve avulsion from a diving injury.

PURPOSE: To report a patient with optic nerve avulsion caused by forceful rotation of the globe that occurred when his thumb penetrated the orbit while he was diving.

METHODS

A 17-year-old boy was initially examined for sudden loss of vision after jumping feet first from a bridge 50 feet above a river. Upon hitting the water, he felt his right thumb push into his right globe. The patient underwent ophthalmologic and imaging examination.

RESULT: Examination disclosed a tear of the optic nerve head from the sclera temporally in the right eye.

CONCLUSION

Optic nerve avulsion occurs secondary to forceful rotation of the eye with tearing of the optic nerve as it exits the globe.