Retinochoroidal Coloboma in a Female Nigerian

Abstract

We report a case of retinochoroidal coloboma in a 32 year old Nigerian female who first presented to the eye outreach clinic with a history of poor vision in the left eye of two years duration. The best corrected visual acuity was 6/5 and light perception with accurate light projection in the right and left eyes respectively. She was subsequently referred to the retina clinic for Neodymium:yttrium- aluminium- garnet (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy on account of a left posterior capsular opacity after cataract surgery at the eye outreach clinic with a best corrected visual acuity of 6/5 and 6/36 respectively in the right and left eye. Dilated binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy of the left eye revealed a large, wedge-shaped, excavated retinochoroidal defect with hyperpigmented edges involving the nasal retina extending across approximately five clock hours from 7 to 10 o’clock. The apex of the coloboma was approximately three disc diameters away from the optic nerve head and extended peripherally up to the ora serrata. The right fundus was normal. Retinochoroidal colobomas may occur in the absence of the known blinding sequelae like retinal detachment, choroidal neovascular membrane amongst others. Our patient had a cataract in the same eye with the retinochoroidal coloboma with subsequent visual gain post-surgery and increasing myopia.