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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Sudden Vision Loss In The Right Eye?

My friend who lives in ruidoso New Mexico. Suddenly lost the sight of his right eye a year ago. Now, it’s his left eye. He just had cataract surgery, thinking that was it, but it’s gett worse. They said there’s no swelling in the macula no cloudiness in the lens. He also has this undiagnosed nasal congestion issue. Constantly trying to blow out the nose. I live in Oklahoma, and used to be an ICU/ER nurse. I have been thinking he might have a pituitary tumor. Trying to find a doctor who could order the needed mri to rule this out and take care of him. I’m planning on coming there for a few weeks to get him to where he needs to be taken care of. Can you suggest who he needs to see close to ruidoso. He can’t drive and lives alone.. Dolly Gentile. YYYY cell YYYY@YYYY
Thu, 28 Jun 2018
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Ophthalmologist,  's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service.
I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

A sudden loss of vision in an eye is rarely due to a pituitary tumor which usually presents a s a progressive visual field loss. The only probable instance in which a pituitary tumor can cause a sudden visual loss is in case of a pituitary apoplexy which is a sudden infarction of the blood supply to the gland. Considering his history of nasal congestion, his sudden vision loss is most consistent with a diagnosis of optic neuritis which is common in the presence of sinusitis or dental infections. Also since the clinical exam did not pick out any swelling of the optic nerve or macula, it is most consistent with the retrobulbar neuritis variant. He will need a baseline blood workup such as CBC, blood sugar and lipid levels, ESR, VDRL, Mantoux and any other blood investigations to rule out infectious diseases endemic to your area. Also a brain MRI is indicated in these cases to rule out demyelinating plaques. Treatment involves a brief course of steroids which hastens the recovery.

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What Causes Sudden Vision Loss In The Right Eye?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. A sudden loss of vision in an eye is rarely due to a pituitary tumor which usually presents a s a progressive visual field loss. The only probable instance in which a pituitary tumor can cause a sudden visual loss is in case of a pituitary apoplexy which is a sudden infarction of the blood supply to the gland. Considering his history of nasal congestion, his sudden vision loss is most consistent with a diagnosis of optic neuritis which is common in the presence of sinusitis or dental infections. Also since the clinical exam did not pick out any swelling of the optic nerve or macula, it is most consistent with the retrobulbar neuritis variant. He will need a baseline blood workup such as CBC, blood sugar and lipid levels, ESR, VDRL, Mantoux and any other blood investigations to rule out infectious diseases endemic to your area. Also a brain MRI is indicated in these cases to rule out demyelinating plaques. Treatment involves a brief course of steroids which hastens the recovery. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.