Abnormalities of the contralateral eye in unilateral congenital anophthalmic or blind microphthalmic patients.

PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence, distribution, and features of anterior and posterior segment abnormalities in the contralateral eye in cases unilateral of anophthalmia and blind microphthalmia.

METHODS

The medical records of patients with unilateral congenital anophthalmia and blind microphthalmia referred to Beijing Tongren Hospital between January 2017 and December 2021 were reviewed retrospectively to investigate the prevalence of abnormalities of the fellow eye.

RESULTS

A total of 168 patients were included. Of these, 28 (16.7%) had fellow eye abnormalities, 4 (2.4%) with anterior segment involvement in the contralateral eye. All 28 had fundus abnormalities. The most common posterior segment finding was coloboma (7.7%), followed by optic nerve dysplasia (3.0%), familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) or FEVR-like fundus (1.8%), morning glory disk anomaly (1.8%), and retinal nerve fiber layer defect (1.2%). High myopia fundus changes (0.6%), retinal folds (0.6%), maculopathy (0.6%), peripapillary staphyloma (0.6%), and Bergmeister optic disk (0.6%) were also noted.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with unilateral congenital anophthalmia or blind microphthalmia have a high probability of contralateral eye disease. The most common abnormality is coloboma.