Optic pit

An optic pit, also called an optic nerve pit or optic disc pit, is a rare congenital depression in the optic disc, the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, resulting from a malformation during development of the eye. It affects roughly 1 in 10,000 eyes, men and women equally, and about 85 percent of cases involve only one eye. Many pits are found incidentally and cause no symptoms, but they are associated with serous retinal detachment in up to half of cases, which can distort vision and reduce acuity. Diagnosis is by examination of the back of the eye, with optical coherence tomography as a helpful supplement. The pit itself needs no treatment, though associated detachment may be treated with laser photocoagulation or vitrectomy. Optic pits were first described in 1882.